Every college student experiences it: that moment of deep regret when they realize they've taken "Thirsty Thursday" a little to the extreme and Friday comes and they feel like if it were impossible to wake up for that morning class. Don't worry though because there is a life-saving nectar invented specifically for this circumstance - or so most college students think - and this nectar is none other than coffee. This infamous cycle is repeated by most college students almost every week, and few actually consider how this cycle is actually affecting not only their current state but also their entire physiology. One physiological cycle that is heavily influenced and that most students are not even aware of is the circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythms are a nearly twenty-four hour cycle that controls physiological, behavioral and mental qualities. These qualities range from locomotor activity, meaning it can affect coordination and muscle strength throughout the day. Furthermore, the release of hormones is driven by the circadian rhythm, for example melatonin, which when released causes a feeling of drowsiness. Hunger is also controlled by the body's rhythmic clock. The key to identifying how the average college student's circadian rhythm is affected is to observe their sleep patterns. As mentioned, circadian rhythms influence the release of melatonin, known as the sleep hormone because the release of this hormone induces sleep. By having signals that advance or delay the circadian clock, it corresponds to and directly influences the physiological cycles of the circadian rhythm and thus affects sleep. In addition to drug-induced signals, there are numerous other factors that influence the circadian rhythm. The primary and most influential center of the card. However, in the absence of environmental cues, the circadian rhythm will rely on the shell of the SCN to maintain a rhythm that acts as a backup clock. The reason the SCN relies on the nucleus as the primary pacemaker is because it is evolutionarily the best means of survival because it attempts to optimally adapt to its environment rather than expecting a consistent environment throughout its life. Mainly the stimulus that would cause the ventrolateral region to project information to the dorsomedial region is due to light signals. However, examining the neurotransmitters involved in these regions of the SCN shows a significant dependence on GABA, which is the alcohol-related neurotransmitter intertwined with the master clock of the circadian rhythm. This exemplifies the connection between alcohol and the fact that alcohol is a prevalent cue for synchronizing circadian rhythms.