Violating your body’s rhythm

On 21^st November 2018 at around 8 pm, two days before the full moon day, I was standing with my husband on the terrace to enjoy the moon light and to absorb energy of the almost full moon. When we came down, I got this message on whatsapp, “Hi Mam, I stay a few houses down the lane from your home… I noticed that your home has no light outside..why is it like that Mam? The whole colony is lighted up and you are very spiritual...”

I asked her, “Can you imagine how the street would have looked, bathed in the cool moon light, if only they hadn’t put on those harsh artificial lights?”

We are in the solar system

Since we are in the solar system, our bodily functions are regulated by the circadian rhythm. We know the importance of endocrine glands in maintaining our health and moods. Pineal gland (third eye) is a tiny, yet very important gland that produces various hormones and chemicals that keep us healthy and functioning well. One such hormone is melatonin, which controls our body’s sleep and wake patterns.

Pineal gland has more blood flow per cubic volume than any other organ and it is bathed in highly charged cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). So it may be the gland with the highest concentration of energy in the body. Pineal gland is also the dominant source of the body’s melatonin, which is a hormone that helps regulate circadian rhythms.

Importance of Melatonin, Serotonin

Serotonin influences your mood, cognition and behavior, while melatonin influences your sleep-wake cycle.The precursor to melatonin is serotonin, a neurotransmitter that itself is derived from the amino acid tryptophan. Within the pineal gland, serotonin is acetylated and then methylated to yield melatonin.Thus, low tryptophan levels may decrease serotonin and melatonin levels, leading to detrimental effects.Tryptophan is present in most protein-based foods or dietary proteins. It is particularly plentiful in milk, dried dates, yogurt, cottage cheese, oats, eggs, fish, sesame, chickpeas, almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, buckwheat, spirulina, and peanuts.

The pineal gland receives and interprets light and darkness signals from the eyes. Chemical messengers translate these signals into the production of melatonin, the hormone that makes you feel sleepy. 

Synthesis and secretion of melatonin is dramatically affected by light exposure to the eyes.Exposure to artificial light after dusk and before bedtime may reduce sleep quality by suppressing production of the hormone melatonin and may also have other negative health effects.

Melatonin- much more to it

Melatonin plays a role in the body's antioxidant defenses and helps regulate blood pressure, body temperature and cortisol levels, as well as sexual and immune function. The main causes of melatonin deficiency are a lack of sleep or anything that disrupts sleep e.g. shift work, late nights, jet lag, alcohol, caffeine, blood sugar imbalances, stress, exposure to light electromagnetic waves and age (some older adults produce no melatonin at all).

This hormone may also influence a wide variety of cellular processes that affect cancer and heart disease.

Increasing infertility in recent times

Melatonin also protects women’s eggs from “oxidative stress,” according to Live Science. A 2014 study found that melatonin has “strong antioxidant properties” that safeguards the egg from “free-radical damage.” Artificial light signals to the pineal gland that it’s time to be awake and causes a decrease in melatonin production, which in turn leaves a woman’s egg with less protection than normal.

Because healthy egg production is the first step to conception and a healthy pregnancy, healthy melatonin levels are crucial to fertility. In fact, poor egg quality is one of the most common causes of infertility.

In an interview with Live Science, RusselJ. Reiter, a professor of cellular biology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, advised, “If women are trying to get pregnant, maintain at least eight hours of a dark period at night. The light-dark cycle should be regular from one day to the next; otherwise, a woman's biological clock is confused.

Melatonin is also essential to embryonic and fetal development. Thus, a poorly regulated circadian rhythm can have negative effects on both fertility and pregnancy.

Partying hard is damaging our lives

Late night parties at very frequent intervals can play havoc with your body. When you don't get enough sleep, your body naturally releases the stress hormone cortisol.  Too much cortisol in the body starts to break down collagen, a protein that promotes smooth skin and elasticity. Sleep deprivation also may decrease the production of the growth hormones in your body that strengthen the skin and fend off wrinkles, says Dr. David Bank, dermatologist and director of The Center for Dermatology, Cosmetic, and Laser Surgery in Mount Kisco, NY, and author of Beautiful Skin – Every Woman's Guide to Looking Her Best at Any Age. Skimp on sleep and you'll lose the restorative effects that make your skin look young and healthy.

People who suffer from insomnia are found more likely to suffer from major depression than people who sleep regularly, and they are more likely to be overweight. That's probably because sleep deprivation messes with the hormones that regulate your appetite (ghrelin) and tell your brain you're full (leptin), which can lead to chronic overeating.      

Decision-making involves many parts of the brain, and when you don't give your brain enough rest, it functions at half-mast, and you'll end up making poor decisions in life. Brain spontaneously reorganizes information when you rest, which could explain why it's so much harder to focus and come up with ideas when you haven't slept. Sleep loss stresses out your body and mind in a way that causes your blood pressure to spike. Over time, this could damage your arteries, heart, kidneys, and even bring about stroke, loss of vision.

Leading life without discipline has a heavy price to pay!