I've had several clients ask me about sleep disorders, and one
or two have had disturbed sleep lately. I have been performing
research and I found a great article on seasonal rhythms and
melatonin. Apparently the nueral cluster that controls our sleep
through melatonin signals is not too far behind the eyes and are
in fact regulated by times of the day that more light is being
perceived. So, tell your body by light, when it is wakey wakey,
and turn it off about the time you should be sleeping - even if
you are not! Here is something specific from the article:
When the nights are prolonged, the melatonin profile
lengthens, sleep breaks into two components at the beginning and
end of the night, with an intervening interval of quiet
wakefulness, and the nocturnal nadir of the core body
temperature rhythm either broadens or shifts phase towards one
or other sleep interval. This vestigial seasonal reorganisation
of the circadian temporal programme is probably not of great
importance to most of us living a modern life. However, the
subjective descriptions of the quiet wakefulness, with the mind
hovering back and forth between dream-filled sleep and conscious
awareness suggest a deep psychological resonance with season
which may underlie seasonal changes in normal and disordered
mood. Perhaps we do all have a primitive need, driven by our
clock, to turn down the lights, put another log on the fire, and
sit back and rest, waiting for the winter to pass.
It seems that in winter, we rest more, but is the sleep quality?
Perhaps not... We might even wake every hour or so, when this is
happening, sometimes in the fall when our daylight cycles are
changing, our bodies are giving out stimulii to prolong sleep,
but not necessarily deep-sleep.
sd
another excellent study:
The scientists found the pigment, called cryptochrome (CRY),
drives mammals' circadian rhythm, the 24-hour biological timer
that regulates numerous bodily functions, Sancar said. Those
processes -- synchronized to light and dark by light at dawn --
range from body temperature and blood pressure regulation to
intellectual performance, sleep and wakefulness.
A report on the findings appears in the Nov. 20 issue of Science. Besides Sancar, authors are Randy J. Thresher, Yasuhide Miyamoto, Aleksey Kazantsev, David S. Hsu, Claude Petit, Christopher P. Selby, Lala Dawut and Oliver Smithies, all of UNC-CH, and Martha Hotz Vitatarna and Joseph S. Takahashi of Northwestern University.
Experiments at UNC-CH showed that production of a protein known as "Period," which is controlled by light and helps regulate mammals' internal clock, was reduced by more than 50 percent in the mutant mice, Sancar said.
A report on the findings appears in the Nov. 20 issue of Science. Besides Sancar, authors are Randy J. Thresher, Yasuhide Miyamoto, Aleksey Kazantsev, David S. Hsu, Claude Petit, Christopher P. Selby, Lala Dawut and Oliver Smithies, all of UNC-CH, and Martha Hotz Vitatarna and Joseph S. Takahashi of Northwestern University.
Experiments at UNC-CH showed that production of a protein known as "Period," which is controlled by light and helps regulate mammals' internal clock, was reduced by more than 50 percent in the mutant mice, Sancar said.
Discovered in 1877, pigments known as opsins, which are
linked to vitamin A and located in the retina,
enable mammals to see by absorbing light and transferring visual
signals through the optic nerve to the brain. The newly
discovered cryptochromes, which come in two forms called CRY 1
and CRY 2, are linked to vitamin B-2 and
located in a different part of the retina. Cryptochromes enable
animals and humans to synchronize their circadian clocks by
absorbing blue light and transferring the light signal through
the optic nerve to a different part of the brain from the center
for vision.
"Understanding how circadian rhythm works has many practical
applications," said Sancar, a member of the UNC Lineberger
Comprehensive Cancer Center. "First, individuals with a disease
called seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, suffer serious
depression during the winter months with short daylight. It may
be that SAD patients have a defective gene that doesn't produce
the pigment properly or simply suffer from a vitamin B-2
deficiency. Maybe we can treat some patients with vitamin B-2."
other valuable stuff:
Some people are prone to having nightmares if they eat foods
containing sugar within a couple of hours
before going to sleep. (I am). I believe this has something to
do with rapidly falling blood sugar levels. Sugary foods
may cause this problem in a completely healthy
person - these occurances do not indicate that someone has
hypoglycemia or diabetes.
movement disorders such as restless leg syndrome
and PLMD might be caused bya. heredityb. medicationsc.
pregnancyd. exercisee. medical conditions (anemia, diabetes,
renal failure, and certain neurological disorders)f. stimulants
such as caffeine, chocolate or nicotineg. muscle fatigue
