Document Type : Commentary
Authors
1
HIV/STI Surveillance Research Center, and WHO Collaborating Center for HIV Surveillance, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
2
Lab of Light and Physio-psychological Health, National Center for International Research on Green Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou,510006, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Information Materials and Technology & Institute of Electronic Paper Displays, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
3
Department of Counseling, Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
4
Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran
5
Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Addiction Institute, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
10.34172/jhad.1237
Abstract
Circadian rhythm research is essential for understanding how daily biological processes influence health and disease. However, studying these rhythms in Muslim societies presents methodological challenges that are not fully addressed by existing circadian research tools and protocols. Daily religious practices, including the timing of five daily prayers and the fasting period during Ramadan, structure sleep and eating patterns in ways that may differ from the relatively fixed routines assumed in many circadian questionnaires and laboratory paradigms. These culturally structured behaviors can influence biological timing, yet they are often not captured in standard assessment instruments.
In addition, certain experimental designs that require strict control of light exposure, altered sleep schedules, or limited awareness of external time may present practical or ethical constraints in settings where religious practices follow defined temporal patterns. Current tools used to assess chronotype, social jetlag, and eating timing rarely incorporate variables related to religiously anchored behaviors, which may limit the interpretability of circadian data in these contexts. Although this commentary focuses on Muslim societies, similar considerations may arise in other religious and cultural environments where daily routines follow structured temporal practices. Developing and validating circadian assessment tools that account for culturally structured behaviors may improve measurement precision, strengthen ecological validity, and support more inclusive applications of circadian science and precision sleep medicine.
Keywords
Main Subjects
)