Even the changing lineup of nightly guests, which can attract or put off casual viewers, doesn't significantly impact regular viewership patterns.

FORBES: Entertainment

In order to rest properly, our bodies need regular sleeping patterns.

CNN: Vital Signs health tips

The sophisticated analysis comes into play when the pillow compares the previous night's movements to your regular sleep patterns (using its impressive ability to identify the bigger of two numbers), and if you had a more restless night than usual, it helpfully suggests that you try to squeeze in a nap or two during the day.

ENGADGET: Japanese pillow offers napping advice

Tube-travel patterns are regular: entering the system at one station tends to mean leaving it at a particular other one.

ECONOMIST: Urban research

Some researchers have tried to use the regular rate at which error patterns appear in dog DNA as a kind clock to time their rise, but this has produced contradictory results.

BBC: Dog evolved 'on the waste dump'

Eating together provides structure that helps both children and adults develop sound eating patterns, resulting in regular mealtimes and less solitary munching in front of the computer or the TV.

CNN: Why family meals matter