In sharp contrast, the pendulum of the circadian clock requires a full day for a single swing, so resetting it requires the much more delicate task of mucking with the actual oscillator, akin to advancing a pendulum in mid-swing. The “swing,” in this case, refers to the rise and fall of the circadian proteins within our cells. It is simply not possible to instantly reset the concentration of the circadian proteins within a cell, any more than it is possible to instantly reset an hourglass that is half full.
