Collagen production depends on biorhythms
Last reviewed: 16.04.2020
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The processes of collagen production and combining collagen fibers in the body are unstable and differ depending on the time of day.
A person’s lack of sleep is immediately apparent: he has a tired look, he has dark circles under his eyes, he is clumsy, irritable and inconsistent. In addition, with lack of sleep, the appearance suffers greatly, and one of the reasons is a violation of collagen production.
Almost all of us know about collagen fibers and their purpose. Both dermatologists and cosmetologists point to the direct dependence of youth and skin health on the quantity and quality of collagen. In addition to skin, collagen also supports the intercellular matrix - a specific substance that surrounds cells, ensuring their spatial organization and stable localization.
The main property of the intercellular matrix is the structuring of the tissue and the implementation of the intercellular exchange of molecular impulses. In addition to the matrix, there are connective tissue fibers that play the role of supporting tissue and protection. The functionality of the intercellular matrix and connective tissue is largely dependent on the presence of collagen molecules.
Molecules are united by the type of filament strands, forming a kind of rope. Long collagen structures are formed, differing from each other in thickness. The thickest fibrils (with a diameter of about 200 nm) are formed in young people under 17 years old, and are present until the end of their life paths. Less thick structures (approximately 50 nm in diameter) are unstable, as they can periodically appear and disappear. Such fibrils are damaged as a result of heavy loads, overstretching or squeezing, and then replaced with new synthesized fibers. [1]
Specialists representing the University of Manchester noticed: fine structures are not constantly updated, but depending on the daily rhythm.
At night, the cells produce the “backbone” for collagen — the procollagen protein. In the daytime, it penetrates into the intercellular space, where it combines into thin fibers. The processing of damaged fibrils is also associated with biorhythms.
When the daily cyclic control mechanism was turned off, the molecular sequence of collagen production and utilization of "waste" fibers was disrupted. Since thin structures coexist with “life-long” thick fibrils, some fibers turned out to be defective when biorhythms failed. Therefore, daily activity also affects the maintenance of the collagen system in an adequate state.
Based on the foregoing, scientists believe that unpleasant changes in appearance against the background of regular lack of sleep can be the result of collagen malfunctions. Bad and inadequate sleep leads to a change in biorhythms, which invariably affects the mechanism of fiber formation and their condition.
Since the experiments have so far been carried out only on rodents, it is too early to draw final conclusions. Full-fledged research is needed, reflecting the cyclic state of the human body. [2]
Information provided by Nature Cell Biology .