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body clock
noun
: the internal mechanisms that schedule periodic bodily functions and activities
—usually not used technically
Examples of body clock in a Sentence
It takes a while for my body clock to get adjusted when I fly from New York to London.
Recent Examples on the Web
Early birds ranked themselves as more than five years older than evening types, also known as night owls, and four years older than intermediate types, people with a body clock that doesn’t fit either extreme.
—Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 26 Mar. 2024
Sleep experts, for example, are concerned about the impact of forcing a human to wake up at an allotted time—and subsequently back to sleep—as opposed to allowing a person’s body clock to synchronize with natural daylight hours.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 23 Mar. 2024
And they were given the early practice, at 10 a.m. local time (7 a.m. on their body clocks), while the other three teams here — all from the Central or Eastern time zones — went later.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Mar. 2024
Adjust the timing of other daily routines such as meals, exercise and medications, all of which are unconscious time cues for your internal body clock.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2024
Sun exposure in the morning can help set your circadian rhythm, which helps regulate your internal body clock.
—Kelsey Mulvey, Sunset Magazine, 6 Feb. 2024
When a person’s sleep cycles are out of sync with their environment and internal body clock, that can lead to health issues.4
Castriotti explained that having jet lag after a long flight is a good way to illustrate it.
—Julia Landwehr, Health, 29 Dec. 2023
Experts recommend leaning in to your body’s natural body clock and using red light therapy or lights designed to lessen seasonal affective disorder (SAD) during the winter months.
—Lauryn Higgins, Health, 20 Oct. 2023
What Is Jet Lag? Jet lag occurs when your circadian system, or body clock, is out of sync with your new surroundings.
—Marisa Sloan, Discover Magazine, 1 May 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'body clock.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1916, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near body clock
Cite this Entry
“Body clock.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/body%20clock. Accessed 17 Jun. 2024.
Medical Definition
body clock
noun
: the internal mechanisms that schedule bodily functions and activities
—not usually used technically
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