Insomnia is a sleep disorder characterized by difficulties falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up earlier than desired. Research shows that many factors-both behavioral and cognitive- are effective in treating this condition (Roth, 2007). Many of us, however, are not aware of how our behaviors contribute to sleep disruption. In order to understand insomnia, we must first become aware that many normal behaviors effect chemicals in the body, stress levels, and our quality of sleep.
At night, the pineal gland produces a hormone called melatonin. This chemical controls the body’s sleep and wake cycle (Lieberman, et al, 1984). Research has shown that melatonin can correlate to many other functions (and problems) in the body besides regulating our sleeping patterns. A common use for melatonin is the treatment of sleep disorders (Jan, 1994). Melatonin supplements have been shown to be an effective treatment for jet-lag or working the night shift- basically any behavior that disrupts the body’s natural sleep-wake rhythm. When a person disrupts his sleep-wake cycle, he is prone to headaches, poor concentration, fatigue…many symptoms that are hallmark of insomnia.
The body has an internal clock, the circadian rhythm, that reacts to many factors in the environment and then tells the body that it is time to either be awake, or go to sleep. In the morning, exposure to sunlight cues our body’s “wake” response (Jan, 1994). Physiologically, the light of the sun travels
These cycles are based on the approximately twenty-four-hour tau of humans and external factors, called zeitgebers. The sleep cycle affects multiple parts of a person’s day, including school or work, naps, eating, or driving. Research has found that there is an endogenous clock but that animals are also affected by external cues through free-running experiments. An experiment was done concerning circadian rhythms and their connection through metabolism. The researchers looked at multiple factors affecting sleep as a homeostatic process along with a circadian process (Albrecht 27). These factors included neurotransmitters, protein kinases, and metabolism, along with others. The way the body affects our behavior is apparent when looking at the habit that is
“Why do we sleep?” is a very popular questions that many humans ask today. Sleep is very sufficient to the human body. If it was not important, then God would not have designed for a third of our life to be occupied by sleep. During this time period, many people are interested to know what is a good amount of sleep and what are the harmful effects to not getting enough sleep.
Thesis: Sleep plays an essential part in a person’s health and well-being; the way we feel while awake is dependent upon what happens to your body while asleep.
Humans have a natural rhythm of 25 hours of sleep and wakefulness, in order to reset this the brain plays an important role with the suprachiasmatic nucleus which is a cluster of neurons in the medial hypothalamus of the brain. The SCN
Melatonin is a hormone which
Melatonin is a regulator of sleep wake cycles in all organisms. Furthermore, it is synthesised in the pineal gland and begins as an amino acid tryptophan. This amino acid is converted to serotonin and then metabolized into melatonin by the N-acetylation of 5-HT preceded with the addition of a methyl group at the hydroxyl position of the molecule via two enzymes called hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase (HIOMT) and N-acetyltransferase (AANAT) (Foulkes et al. 1997; Schomerus and Korf 2005). After those steps melatonin has been synthesised and will begin to affect the sleep wake cycle of the species.
Organisms, whether they happen to be nocturnal or diurnal always have a sort of involuntary or in the words or Ivan Pavlov, ‘unconditioned reflex responses’ that they use to determine when to sleep and wake. Biologists universally believe that organisms have a type of biological clock controlling their various cycles for daily activities. According to the American Heritage’s Dictionary of Student Science, 2014, the daily biological activities are referred to as circadian rhythms and are influenced by light and dark 24-hour day regular intervals. The rhythms are controlled by hormones and regulated by the brain, but can be disrupted by the alteration of daily schedules like exposure to light during night time hours. (American Heritage, 2014). Different organisms have different ways of handling their sleep-wake cycles as we will see in the analysis of cycles that are characteristic of the giraffe, the camel, and the desert snail. This paper will analyze sleep patterns of each organism, how different their sleep cycle is from that of the human cycle, whether they are nocturnal or diurnal, and whether any of them dreams.
Sleep is one of the unavoidable daily-living activities and it is one of the most important factors contributing to a person’s health. A quality sleep is essential for the physical, cognitive and psychological well-being of a person. Learning, memory processing and maintenance of the brain are among the most important functions of sleep. In addition to maintaining the brain, sleep has important roles in controlling the
Sleep is undoubtedly one of the most essential requirements for the human body to function properly. It plays a very important role in ensuring the wellness of the human body both physically as well as mentally. In fact, the importance of sleep is clear from the fact that it helps you in maintaining a good lifestyle throughout our entire lifetime. Not only does it help maintain our physical and mental health; rather it also helps in maintaining a decent and healthy lifestyle along with ensuring safety from a number of fatal diseases. It is usually said that the mood in which you wake up is largely dependent on the type of sleep you have been in. This in itself is a big proof of the importance of sleep in our lives. While sleeping, our body finally gets its share of rest and it also gets ample time in rejuvenating from all the wear and tear that it went through during the entire day. Not only this, the body is in its own working condition when we are sleeping as this is the time when it supports the healthy functioning of the brain as well as physical attributes of our body.
The body's biological clock "suprachiasmatic nucleus" (Swedish translation missing) has a lot of receptors for melatonin and if exposed very strong light (which prevents the secretion of melatonin), you can reset the body's circadian rhythm, which affects body functions such as body temperature, appetite and need for sleep.
compounds promote wakefulness as well as its actions in the brain are still not well
This simply means that the body has a natural clock that runs it. The circadian timing system is no longer a twenty-four hour cycle, but it is just more of an individual timing system (Williams 111). As people have developed and changed, the system is no longer twenty-four hours, but it has become more personalized according to the individual. Circadian rhythms have a large impact on our sleeping patterns and if the system is changed, it can be the beginning cause of sleep deprivation.
The hormone melatonin is naturally present in the body and play an important role in our daily rhythm. Anyone who has ever traveled across the Atlantic to the United States has certainly got the hint to buy melatonin, to help manage jet lag. In the US, namely melatonin to come by in most grocery stores, and between 20-30 million Americans are estimated
Individuals with these circumstances may try many different treatments prior to finding the perfect one for their condition with detail to the source. Psychiatric counselling and medicines made to grip these difficulties are the way few individuals might treat their nervousness and insomnia. However, therapy utilizing an organic medication is liked by several people. Barely any goods are organic and natural or even operative even though there are plentiful that claim to aid with uneasiness and sleep difficulties. Kavinace is a scientific quality rest indorsing formula that was industrialised to logically reduce anxiety as well as encourage healthful sleep. Healthcare and mental health care specialists to offer individuals an organic remedy for snooze and unrest problems established this treatment
Insomnia affects almost half of adults living in America. (# 8, 2012) This is a shared sleeping disorder that many people across the universe are diagnosed with. Several causes of insomnia include exercising too much, stress, withdrawal from alcohol or a certain drug, physical circumstances, and diseases. People with insomnia usually have trouble going to sleep or staying asleep, which causes people to have poor-quality sleep, which will affect their mood, energy, and productiveness for the next day. (MediLexicon, Intl., 2012) More symptoms of insomnia include waking up earlier than needed, having trouble falling back asleep, and being in a bad mood the following day. Insomnia can cause many more problems such as weight