From all of the health-related television shows to the medical based magazine articles, who in fact really knows the truth on melatonin? According to a variety of doctors, scientists, and physiologists, melatonin, which is naturally supplied, is an effective, vigorous aid that is very useful for health purposes. Researchers have said that there are negative claims on the effects of melatonin such as jet lag and type 2 diabetes. Medical studies also explain that the tremendous benefits of melatonin override these accusations because it reduces the risks of headaches, cancers, and behavioral issues with chronic insomnia.
What is melatonin exactly, and how does it function in one’s body? The University of Maryland Medical Center states that melatonin is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland in the brain that controls other hormones and maintains the body’s circadian rhythms (Melatonin UMM). The pineal gland in one’s brain is responsible for producing a variety of hormone types, but the main one that is released is melatonin. The main job of melatonin is to regulate night and day cycles because when darkness occurs, more melatonin is produced in the body. When light arises throughout the day, melatonin levels decrease signaling the body to wake up (Melatonin Medline). If one is severely exposed to extreme amounts of bright lights or if not enough light is given off, then the circadian rhythms that the melatonin orders becomes deeply disturbed (Melatonin UMM). As one generalizes this basic information regarding the function and meaning of melatonin, experiments have shown that the hormone plays an important role in the treatment of migraines and other types of headaches.
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...dence from 2009 suggesting that you can train your body and brain to work effectively. I rarely had to use this book because there was not too much information in regards to my topic, but the facts I found throughout the book were very interesting. A very credible source that deserves to be read from time to time.
Weaver, Jacqueline. "Study: Melatonin Is Not Useful in Fighting Jet Lag." Yale University, 10 Nov. 2000. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.
This website article talks mainly about why melatonin is not useful in fighting jet lag. A study back in November of 2000 stated that circadian rhythms were disturbed due to melatonin. Although this is a credible .edu source, I found this information to be jumbled throughout because it tells the reader that melatonin is useful and not useful. This was one of my counter-arguments in the paper, and I had a lot to say about it too.
Ratey, John J. (2008). Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. New York, NY: Little Brown and Company.
Otmani, S., Demazières, A., Staner, C., Jacob, N., Nir, T., Zisapel, N., & Staner, L. (2008). Effects of prolonged-release melatonin, zolpidem, and their combination on psychomotor functions, memory recall, and driving skills in healthy middle aged and elderly volunteers. Human Psychopharmacology, 23(8), 693-705
Miller, Susan, Karen Springer, Peter Katel, and Binnie K. Fisher. "Melatonin Mania." Newsweek November 6, 1995: 60-63.
Health is a complex concept, and when we talk about health we refer to body health and to the health of the mind, the health of relationships between us and those around us, the spiritual health. Looking online on one of the additional resources recommended, www.nimh.nih.gov, I have noticed that one of the symptoms of most diseases that affect a person's mental health is lack of sleep. Lack of sleep not only worsens man's mental health, but also causes serious imbalances in metabolism, immunity, general mood, and last but not least, affects the ability of learning and memorizing among students. The sleep fulfills a number of vital functions for both our mind and body. We spend about a third of our lives sleeping, which is a valuable and useful
Lack of sleep can affect health and should be prevented before it is too late and before the disorders can increase. More research would need to done to actually find different treatments instead of surgeries and medicines. However, the research that has been conducted and reviewed shows that sleep deprivation should not be taken lightly, it is something that can even lead to death according to many research conducted which was discussed in this literature review. People who have don’t have enough sleep can end up hurting themselves or have different disorders and diseases.
“The current explosion of digital technology not only is changing the way we live and communicate, but is rapidly and profoundly altering our brains (Carr). When someone stays up all night staring at their cell phone, it is changing their sleep schedule. Blue enriched light that is emitted from mobile devices can suppress the body’s release of melatonin at night (Hiscott). Melatonin is the key hormone that controls someone 's internal clock, and when not enough is released, a body is oblivious to when it is supposed to be asleep. Sleep is crucial for successful development in a young child’s
Sleep is crucial to lead a very happy and healthy life. Without sleep, people can become less focused and are constantly tired during waking life. “Sufficient sleep is increasingly being recognized as an essential aspect of chronic disease prevention and health promotion” (Are You Getting Enough Sleep?). To fight threatening diseases and to maintain a healthy lifestyle, a good night’s sleep is number one on the to-do list. However, most people think they have more important things to do other than lie down and rest, but sleep is essential to a healthy life. Putting down a distraction and going to bed is quite difficult to do, but people need a good quality and quantity amount of sleep each night. “Sleep affects mentality, creativity, physical vitality, and healthy weight. It is also not just the quantity of sleep you get, but the quality of sleep you really have to pay attention to. ” A large amount of people try to sleep as little as possible. There are too many factors at play that people would rather be doing, but sleep is just as important for happiness and good health as exercise and nutrition are (How Much Sleep Do You Need?). Lack of sleep causes mental and physica...
Sleep disorders are an underestimated public health concern considering that fifty to seventy million Americans are affected. Technological advances in the field of sleep have facilitated various theories to explain the need for and the purpose of sleep. Scientist have uncovered many types of sleep disorders such as insomnia, sleep apnea, and narcolepsy. Sleep disorders affect men ,women, children, the elderly, and the obese in different ways. Factors such as the number of children and the effects of menopause have been studied to determine their effects on sleep. Various treatments have been utilized ranging from non-pharmacologic to pharmacologic methods. Scientist have pinpointed areas of the brain that are involved in sleep deprivation and hormones that ultimately affect sleep.
Sleep is important for many reasons. Nothing can replace a good night of sleep, not even any pills or vitamins. We all have a internal body clock which makes us feel sleepy throughout the day. Our internal body clock controls the "circadian rhythms" in our bodies. These "circadian rhythms" are what let our bodies know when we are sleepy and it also tells us when we suppose to be awake. (UCLA) Our bodies know when it is time to prepare for bed, a hormone called melatonin is released when it is dark outside which causes our bodies to feel tired. (Mann, Denise) It is very important to listen to our bodies. This is something most teens don’t do. During the day a compound called adenosine builds up in our bodies and when we go to sleep our bodies break that adenosine that had been building up throughout the day. Adenosine is a nucleoside that occurs naturally in all cells of the body. Chemically it is 6- amino-9- beta-D- ribofuranosyl-9-H-purine (Mandal). Adenosine is an important hormone in sleep. As soon as we wake up, adenosine builds up in our brains. During the day, as the hours go by it continues to build up...
It’s very important that people know how much sleep they need. Sleeping improves people’s health while lack of sleep causes detriment
Specific purpose: To persuade my audience to take care of our sleep duration as it may affect our daily life.
Important public policy issues have arisen in our modern 24-hour society, where it is crucial to weigh the value of sleep versus wakefulness. Scientific knowledge about sleep is currently insufficient to resolve the political and academic debates raging about how much and when people should sleep. These issues affect almost everybody, from the shift worker to the international traveler, from the physician to the policy maker, from the anthropologist to the student preparing for an exam.
Once there was a man named Ralph, who moved from Austria to Tulsa, Oklahoma. There in Tulsa he found a secret ocean that was as large as the Pacific. He would sail across this ocean on his yacht. One day a giant shark the size of the Titanic bit off a chunk of his ship. He began to drown almost immediately. Ralph began to pray his last prayer when suddenly Iron Man swooped in and saved him. Iron Man explained that the shark just wanted to play with Ralph, but he did not know how strong he really was. Ralph thanked Iron Man for the service he had performed……. These adventures and others like them can only be possible in dreams. People who never get the proper amount of sleep will never go on the adventures of a lifetime and sail through the great oceans of Tulsa, Oklahoma. This is only one of the reasons why sleep is so imperative. Sleep regularity is important to prioritize and understand, because adults and teens need different amounts of sleep, there are different repercussions for this type of irregularity, and there are ways to help improve it.
What research has told us is that sleep is relegated by an internal time clock or what the experts call the circadian cycle. First circadian comes from two Latin words circa: about and dia: day. All the various bodily function cycle that occur during the day are related to our circadian cycle. Since the time of Aristotle and Hippocrates these cycles have been recognized. Our sleep/wake cycles is one of the best known bodily functions to show circadian rhythms, and even our vital signs are directly linked to this cycle. As technology advances we gain more precise measurements, allowing researchers to recognize more circadian cycles which in turn teach us how our bodies work and function. On an interesting note it has been found that bone length is linked to and show a circadian cycle.
Sleep is a very important factor in the human function. Our body and brain is able to reset itself and rejuvenate while we sleep. When we do not get the required amount of sleep, we start to feel lethargic and foggy minded, because our mind and body wasn’t able to replenish itself. Sleep is imperative that an insignificant rest deficiency or lack of sleep can affect our ability to remember things; decisions and can affect our temperament. Chronic sleep deficiency can get the body to feel agitated and it could lead to serious health problems such as, heart problems, stress, acne, and obesity.