Study Shows That Colour Changes Can Help Determine Time

Experts reveal that our body clocks can predict the time of the day just by looking at the sky’s color of light. The research, which was performed at the University of Manchester, discovered how the brain determines time, including the neurological mechanisms involved when the day turns into night.

The study, which is set to be published in the Open Access journal PLOS Biology, mainly utilised the change in sky colour from dawn to dusk to come up with the study results. The scientists discovered that while obvious changes in light occur, the colour of the sky is also significantly bluer during twilight than in the day.

Further into the study, the scientists also took electrical activity recordings of mice’s brain while stimulated with varied visual tools. It turns out that the mice were more sensitive when exposed to changes involving the colour blue and yellow compared to mere alterations in brightness.

In line with the initial findings, the researchers created an artificial sky model and re-enacted the changes happening in the sky during the day. The reactions of the mice were then collated after a month of exposure at the top of the University's Pariser Building. The results showed that mice reached its peak body temperature during the dusk when the sky turned dark blue. Because mice are nocturnal animals, this finding is said to be an indication that their body clocks are at its maximal function during this time. Conversely, the mice were noted be more active before dusk when it was only the brightness of the sky that was altered. The absence of colour change in relation to their reactions implied that their body-clocks were not adjusted well to the day-night cycle.

"This is the first time that we've been able to test the theory that colour affects our body clock in any mammal. It has always been very hard to separate the change in colour to the change in brightness but using new experimental tools and a psychophysics approach we were successful," said study leader Dr Timothy Brown from the Faculty of Life Sciences. The exciting thing about the research is that the findings can be applied to humans, and thus be useful in manipulating the body clock of those travelling frequently to avoid jetlag, and those working on shifting schedules, Brown closes.

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