These clocks, in turn, become entrained or captured within the rhythms of nature. Like some Chinese puzzle, there are clocks within clocks within clocks, which together shape our everyday experiences. Check out what they're up to at the Center for Biological Timing at the University of Virginia . The cycle of work and rest is evident throughout nature. Generally, it is in the morning when we engage in our most important work of the day, performing those activities necessary for the group's subsistence.
People resume their activities in the late afternoon but at a slower pace.
The conclusion of the work day brings a social time, with some variant of the cocktail hour occurring in many cultures. Out of a growing appreciation of such body rhythms, medical researchers increasingly apply chronotherapeutic strategies to enhance their treatment effects. Eskimos spread a feast, their sorcerers perform, they extinguish lamps and exchange women. In the light of the moon everyone wants to dance. And the moon has other virtues.