Sleep

Melatonin and Depression: Exploring the Connection Between Mood and the Circadian Rhythm

Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses in the developed world and one that takes a huge toll on both sufferers and their loved ones. Depression also costs the nation as a whole, with its economic impact estimated at more than $50 billion a year in the United States alone. New research on the link between melatonin and depression suggests that melatonin may be an effective natural way to offer relief for this difficult-to-treat illness.

Sleep, Melatonin and Mental Illness

Melatonin deficits have been linked to mental illness of all kinds, from schizophrenia to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Insomnia, sleeping too much and at odd hours and other sleep disorders are common and recognized symptoms of many types of mental illness. While researchers once believed this was just a result of emotional distress, these illnesses are now known to be directly affected by and linked to low melatonin and the resulting sleep disorders.

Clearly, sleep is essential to our mental well-being in a variety of ways. This link led researchers to begin looking at the relationship between melatonin levels and one of the most common mental illnesses on the globe: clinical depression.

The Link Between Melatonin and Depression

Low melatonin has been found in several research trials to be a contributing factor in major depressive disorders. In fact, scientists can predict the severity of depression symptoms from salivary melatonin levels. While low serotonin was once believed to be the main cause of depression, we now know that the human brain is not so simple. Neurohormones such as serotonin and melatonin affect each other due to the interconnected nature of the brain. Melatonin appears to be especially important in developing depression and in treating it as well.

Melatonin, combined with light therapy, has been used for years to treat Seasonal Affective Disorder, which is considered a form of depression. A new study is examining whether this supplement may be useful in treating non-seasonal depression as well. This research follows a much smaller groundbreaking study in the early 2000s that discovered melatonin was useful as a treatment for patients who had refractory, or difficult-to-treat, depression. A growing body of unrefuted evidence suggests that this natural supplement, which is affordable and available without a prescription, may be an important part of correcting neurotransmitter imbalances that cause depression.

Treating Depression in a New Generation

While current depression treatments such as SSRIs work for most people, there are many who struggle to live with and move on from this devastating illness. Researchers are currently looking at new ways to approach the issue of depression and mental illness in general. Melatonin appears to affect levels of both serotonin and cortisol, both of which are imbalanced in people with depression. Stabilizing melatonin levels may help other neurotransmitters to return to healthy levels. This approach to depression, addressing a root cause rather than symptoms, may be the most effective in treating a complex and multifactorial psychological disorder.

Research in chronobiology is shedding light on the strong connections between circadian rhythm and disease. Sleep is essential for good health, so stabilizing sleep cycles may improve illnesses of all kinds. In the case of clinical depression, melatonin may even be a viable stand-alone treatment. While more research will be needed before melatonin becomes a primary treatment for depressive disorders, evidence indicates that treating disorders of the circadian rhythm may be a new and more effective approach to mental illness.

How Sleep Restriction Can Sabotage Your Health

Mar 30 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

How do you feel when you don’t get enough sleep? If you are like most people, you feel fatigued, achy, out of sorts and a bit duller than usual. As much as sleep restriction obviously affects your health and mood, it can have even more severe effects on your hormone levels, cell metabolism and other less visible aspects of health.

Sleep Restriction and Your Metabolism

A recent study has found that sleep restriction can effectively ruin your metabolism. Participants who slept 5.5 hours or less every night experienced a variety of ill effects. Their glucose metabolism was severely impaired, which could lead to type 2 diabetes over time. These people also made less leptin, the hormone associated with feeling full and satisfied, which led to increased hunger. Last, there was an effect on testosterone levels, with the sleep-deprived subjects showing lower amounts of this important male hormone. Surprisingly, the research subjects for this study were young healthy men, perhaps the healthiest population. If sleep restriction can affect these men so drastically, it may have even greater effects on older or less healthy bodies.

This is not the only study to identify sleep habits as a key regulator of metabolism and health. Other studies have found that sleep truly is essential to good health and especially to maintaining a healthy weight. Sleep restriction can cause you to lose fat-free body mass like muscle while packing on fat. Because of these findings, getting the right amount of sleep should be part of every weight loss plan.

Is Our Obesity Epidemic Caused by a Sleep Restriction Epidemic?

Another study published in the journal Obesity suggests that sleep deprivation may be one of the most important factors in weight gain and obesity. When forced to sleep only four hours a day, half the recommended amount, volunteers had a sharp increase in both hunger and ghrelin levels.

Ghrelin is a hormone that produces that gnawing, ravenous hunger feeling that most of us have experienced. This hormone is normally released only when we haven’t eaten for a long interval, but it is expressed continuously in people who are undergoing sleep restriction. It takes an enormous amount of self-control, more than most people have, to resist eating under the influence of ghrelin.

How Much Sleep Is Not Enough?

Sleep restriction has been established as an independent risk factor for obesity, which means it can cause obesity even in the absence of other variables such as genetic predisposition or sedentary lifestyle. However, how much sleep is enough? Many people in the Western world simply do not get enough sleep, which has changed our perception of how much we need. Seven to eight hours is the optimal amount for most people, and as much as five and a half hours can cause negative biological effects. Millions of Americans do not get the sleep that they need to maintain optimal health. Many doctors are recommending better sleep habits as a way to combat obesity and other common diseases.

Our culture almost has reverence for people who go without the sleep they need. Whether it is a medical student studying into the early hours of the morning, a businessman working 20 hour days, or a mother up at 2 a.m. caring for a baby, we treat the sacrifice of sleep as though it is a sign of a person’s willpower. However, these studies suggest that we should treat sleep restriction instead like the dangerous and unhealthy behavior it is. In order to maintain good health, modern people need to make sleep more of a priority and allow others to get that sleep as well.

The Basics of Sleep From A-to-Zzz

Mar 16 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

We spend around one-third of our lives sleeping. This is not wasted time. On the contrary, our bodies have a long list of tasks that can only be completed while our mind is resting and our body is still. Getting the right amount of sleep can give you a clearer mind, more energy, and even lower your risk of developing common life-threatening illnesses.

What is the Purpose of Sleep?

Sleep is not just a time when we are unconscious to the world. When we sleep, our bodies go through five distinct phases, from the early light sleep to REM. REM is the best-known phase of sleep because it is when we dream, but it is not the only time at night when our brains are active. Different hormonal and cellular events happen during each phase of sleep in a manner tightly controlled by the brain.

Our body repeats the five-phase cycle of sleep roughly every 90 minutes. This is why people often wake up easier and with less fatigue if they sleep in increments of 90 minutes. This correlates with the time when they are transitioning to lighter sleep. During these cycles, our brains clean toxins and regenerate neurons. The brain also releases hormones that tell cells throughout the body to undergo DNA repair and replication, repairing the damage of the waking day. When people miss sleep on a regular basis, their bodies cannot complete these important housekeeping tasks. Over time, the wear-and-tear can lead to increased disease risk.

How Much Sleep Do We Need?

While not getting enough sleep can put you at higher risk of disease, getting too much sleep is not healthy. People who sleep too much have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and other deadly diseases. Most adults need around eight hours of sleep for optimal function. There is some variation, but getting between seven and nine hours is optimal for almost all people. As with food, exercise and other healthy habits, moderation in sleep is an important part of a healthy lifestyle.

The Health Benefits of Sleep

What does getting adequate sleep do for your health? To name a few short-term benefits, sleeping the right amount leaves you with a better memory, higher cognitive skills and a lower risk of having accidents at work or in your car. There are long term health benefits to sleep as well. People who do not get enough sleep are at higher risk of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and even cancer. When you get enough sleep, you are increasing your chance of a better quality of life and a longer lifespan at the same time.

A lack of quality sleep is a serious health risk. Unfortunately, it is a very common one. Around one-third of modern people are not getting the right amount. Modern life, with 24/7 light sources and high levels of stress, makes it difficult to settle down. You can have a very real impact on your health simply by deciding to turn off the phone, turn off the light and get the rest you need.

What is sleep? It is a time when your body repairs and rebuilds to prepare you for a healthier, more energetic, and more functional day. Getting the right amount of sleep will leave you more alert, functioning higher and even in better health. There are many healthy, natural ways to increase not just the time that you spend asleep, but the quality of your sleep. Sleep is an important part of a healthy lifestyle and should be a priority for everyone.

Chronobiology of the Skin: The 24-Hour Cycle of Your Largest Organ

Feb 27 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

All life on earth and each organ in our body follow circadian rhythms that revolve around the 24-hour light/dark cycle. Scientists are discovering more and more about the unique circadian rhythm of the skin.

You are probably not aware that your skin follows its own circadian rhythm, but this cycle determines every action of your skin cells from the growth of new tissue to damage repair. Understanding the chronobiology of the skin can help you to better take care of this important organ, as well as also protect against some of the damage that occurs with aging.

The 24-Hour Cycle of Skin Cells

During the day, your skin is exposed to a variety of damaging elements from the environment. Radiation from normal sunlight can cause the formation of free radicals, and even DNA damage. The wind, pollution and other harsh environmental factors also damage delicate skin cells. Our skin would quickly become aged and dysfunctional if we didn’t have cell cycles that allow for repair and rejuvenation.

Most of the repair and growth of our skin cells occurs at night. This makes sense because nighttime is when skin is least likely to be exposed to damaging environmental stressors. Throughout most of human history, people spent the night asleep in dark areas where further damage was unlikely to occur. At night, DNA repair agents begin fixing the DNA damage from the day, while toxic elements and waste products are removed. Cells begin to replicate, undergoing mitosis to generate new cells to replace those that are dead or damaged. Blood and lymph flow to the skin also increases at this time so cells have the nutrient supply that they need to complete these essential processes. Skin cells are most susceptible to damage when they are actively repairing themselves.

When the Chronobiology of the Skin Is Disturbed

When the natural circadian rhythm of the skin is disturbed, your skin cannot recover as effectively from daytime damage. Waste products can build up and cause further damage to the skin cells. New cells are not made as rapidly, giving skin a duller and older appearance. If DNA repair does not occur, the mutations and damage over time can lead to health concerns like skin cancer. The negative effects gradually build up over time, leading to noticeable damage over a lifetime. It does not take a lot to disturb the circadian rhythm of skin cells; exposure to elements and pollutants at night or simply not getting adequate sleep can interfere with these vital processes.

Preventing Aging by Working With Internal Clocks

Understanding the chronobiology of your skin can allow you to prevent damage and also to develop skincare routines that complement your internal clock. Dermatologists recommend that people use external skin products that prevent damage during the day, such as sunscreen and gentle moisturizers. At night, external skin products that assist in damage repair, such as retinol and alpha and beta hydroxy acids, will have more effects. In addition, certain lifestyle changes and the addition of a chronobiology-based dietary supplement that promotes skin health can help your skin to rejuvenate itself. Getting high-quality sleep at night consistently allows more stable circadian rhythms. Preventing nighttime exposure to toxins, such as cigarette smoke and weather, protects skin at a time when it is most prone to damage.

Our skin is our largest organ, protecting our bodies from the elements and performing essential activities such as synthesizing vitamins. Understanding the chronobiology of the skin will allow people to enjoy a healthier, more youthful appearance and to prevent health problems that are caused by accumulated damage.

Circadian Rhythm Disorders: Health Consequences and Treatments

Feb 25 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

What is life like when you cannot sleep well? People with circadian rhythm disorders know all too well. These types of sleep disorders can affect every aspect of a person’s life and even have a crucial effect on the risk for serious diseases such as heart disease and cancer.

Circadian Rhythm Disorders: More Than Insomnia

While nearly everyone will suffer from insomnia at some point in their life, circadian rhythm disorders are more serious and more difficult to treat. In these disorders, the patient’s body is not releasing hormones for sleep, wakefulness and other daily activities at the right time. The result is that people can feel tired when they are supposed to be working, or they are wide awake when it is time to sleep. This can lead to fatigue, depression and a variety of health effects.

The mechanism of these disorders is generally not well known, but researchers have identified several genes behind circadian rhythm disorders. In a healthy person, the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus processes information such as light levels and temperature. Hormones are released to make the person sleepy, more awake, hungry, or whatever is needed at that time in the day. In a person with these disorders, these hormones are released at the wrong time, in the wrong amounts, or not at all.

Types of Circadian Rhythm Disorders

There are multiple types of circadian rhythm disorders, each requiring different treatments and a unique approach. The two most common, shift work disorder and jet lag, are a result of a person’s lifestyle conflicting with their circadian rhythm. In shift work disorder, people who work nights or other odd hours begin to have trouble falling asleep or staying awake when needed because they do not sleep and wake at “normal” times. In jet lag disorder, a person who travels to a new time zone may have physical effects such as fatigue and memory loss due to the shift in environmental cues such as light.

There are circadian sleep disorders that are not caused by the environment as well. Delayed phase sleep disorder is common in teens and young adults. In this disorder, the timing of the circadian rhythm is shifted so that people cannot go to sleep until very late at night. If they cannot also sleep late, they will suffer the effects of insomnia and fatigue. Advanced phase sleep disorder is just the opposite. In this sleep disorder usually seen in the elderly, people feel sleepy very early in the evening and wake up early in the morning. There are even non-24-hour sleep-wake disorders in which the internal clock is not set to the normal 24 hours.

Treating Circadian Rhythm Disorders

Circadian sleep disorders can make you tired, overemotional and even disrupt your thinking. In addition, they can increase your risk of developing serious diseases as you age. However, there are many approaches to treating these disorders. Many people can get a better night’s sleep by taking a melatonin supplement. Because melatonin is the hormone released to make people sleepy, taking this supplement can help people who have trouble falling asleep when it is time. Bright light therapy during the day also has been found to be helpful. Certain wavelengths of light tell your brain that it is daytime, which encourages making wakefulness hormones.

People who have circadian rhythm disorders were once considered lazy or even mentally ill. However, modern medicine recognizes these disorders as a physical disease with a variety of successful treatments. Getting treatment for a circadian rhythm disorder allows many people to reclaim high energy and good overall health.

Night Shift Work Linked to Increased Risk of Heart Disease

Feb 20 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

Night shift work can make you very tired and interfere with your sleep cycles. Alarmingly, a growing body of research suggests that it can also contribute to heart disease.

Anyone who has ever performed night shift work knows that it can have immense effects on your schedule as well as your general feelings of well-being. When you work the night shift, it can be difficult to maintain a schedule, get adequate sleep and avoid feeling fatigued all the time. Sleeping at odd hours, especially during the day, is a challenge for many. The result is fatigue, fuzzy thinking and other complaints. However, the effects of night shift work are not a mere inconvenience. Not only can working nights mess with your sleep and energy, but it can affect your cardiovascular health as well.

How Does Night Shift Work Affect Your Heart?

The Nurses’ Health Study has been following a huge population of nurses(more than 100,000 people) for several decades. One surprising discovery is that people who work the night shift or are on-call at night have an increased risk of mortality by 11 percent. In addition, these workers are between 19 and 23 percent more likely to die of cardiovascular illness. The increased incidence of heart disease and cardiovascular-related death is present even when other variables are the same.

The Physiology of Night Shifts and Heart Disease

Medical researchers have identified a few ways that night shift work can contribute to heart disease. One study found that even a short-term disruption of a person’s natural circadian rhythm can lead to higher blood pressure and increased inflammation, both of which are important risk factors for heart disease.

Another study looked the effect of working irregular hours in health care workers and found that these people have more activity in the sympathetic nervous system. This system is associated with both emotional and physiological stress, the creator of what we call the “fight or flight response.” Health care workers who miss sleep for work have more physiological stress hormones. In addition, they have thickening of the carotid arteries and other signs of developing cardiovascular disease.

Healthcare workers are not the only population where shift work can affect heart health. The CDC and WHO consider shift work a major cause of occupation-related illness due to several studies finding a significant increased risk. Working the night shift is simply not healthy for most people.

New Discoveries, New Approaches

We will always need night shift workers to staff hospitals and in other fields that don’t close down for the night. However, there are ways that knowledge of the link between heart disease and night shift work can be used to improve health. People who work odd hours can be screened earlier and more carefully for cardiovascular problems like high blood pressure to allow early detection and treatment. In addition, melatonin and other supplements may help to prevent cardiovascular disease by helping workers to get adequate rest and maintain a healthy circadian rhythm. Fields where night work is not necessary may consider changing hours so workers can keep a more natural circadian rhythm.

Sleepless nights affect people more than we often realize. New studies are constantly linking surprising diseases with disruptions in the circadian rhythm. Regular sleep of high quality is very important to good health, even if modern life often makes it difficult.