Aging and Biological Oscillation: A Question of Geometry

Abstract

Previous studies in different ethnic groups show changes in heart rate, respiratory rate, cortisol cycle, and sleep-wake cycle throughout life. Our purpose is to verify such changes by comparing the values of each variable before and after puberty. Puberty is associated with the end of growth and is an important point in our theoretical framework: when growth ends, changes occur in the geometry of the biological system. At the same time, this causes phase changes in the oscillatory variables, which are seen as chronodisruption. The results confirm the changes found by other authors in the evolution of the variables throughout life. Then, we can conclude that the variables studied present phase changes when growth ends, in accordance with the proposed theoretical framework.