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Health

How bad is modern life for our body clocks – and what can we do?

Modern life disrupts the circadian rhythms controlling our biology – increasing our risk of developing conditions ranging from diabetes to dementia. Lynne Peeples's new book The Inner Clock explores and offers solutions

By Helen Thomson

18 September 2024

RD3GJW London, UK. Office workers at night, seen through the windows of an office block in the City, London's financial district

Humans defy internal clocks; the little penguin (pictured below) lives by them

Alex Ramsay/Alamy


Lynne Peeples (Out 24 September: Bloomsbury Tonic (UK); Riverhead Books (US))

The little penguin (Eudyptula minor), a tiny, blue bird living off the coast of southern Australia, speed-wobbles from the ocean to its burrow home at the same time every day – just after sunset. Timing is crucial: too early and they miss the day’s final catch; too late and encroaching darkness makes them prey for orcas and feral cats.

Fortunately for those who come to watch, environmental cues like sunlight and phases of…

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