Promoting Sleep

The Powerful effect of Light on Sleep…

Most people are unaware of the powerful effect of light on sleep. In the hours before bed, our bodies expect very low levels of light. In our brain, the hormone melatonin is produced in the evening, promoting sleep. But when we are exposed to light in the evening, it tells our brains that it is still day, causing melatonin levels to be reduced and keeping our bodies from being prepared for sleep. Most of us are doing this every night, resulting in it being harder to sleep and reducing the depth of that night’s sleep.

Not all light has the same effect on sleep. Our sleep is negatively impacted by light that has more blue wavelengths, like the cool white lights we typically have in our homes. When the blue wavelengths are removed, evening light has less of an effect, allowing our bodies to promote sleep as though we were in near darkness. With blue-depleted amber lights with the quality of a sunset, we feel more relaxation, helping to prepare our bodies for good quality sleep.

Natural Day/ Night Light Cycle 

A critical factor that helps maintain healthy sleep and body clocks is exposure to high levels of natural daylight during daytime, and very low levels of light at night. When our bodies are less able to tell day from night, our sleep will be poorer

The degree of impact that light has on the human body depends on the spectral quality (colour) of the light, the time at which it is delivered, the intensity (brightness) of the light stimuli, and the stimulus duration.

Melatonin and Blue Light 

Melatonin is mostly produced by the pineal gland and helps to regulate our daily sleep-wake cycles. It is normally released mid-to-late evening, after the sun has set.

Blue light at 480nm suppresses the release of melatonin. Incidentally, this colour is very similar to the wavelength of a clear blue sky.

Blue light is known to enhance alertness and cognitive function, so too much, or too little, can disrupt our circadian rhythms by suppressing melatonin leading to impaired sleep and possibly delayed sleep phase disorder.

Sleep affects all Facets of our Wellbeing

Melatonin Benefits Beyond a good night’s sleep
Anti-Aging
Immune Booster
Migrane Relief
Skin Care
Anti-Cancer
Anti-Oxidant Benefits
Anti-Depression
Body Clock Control
Menopause Symptoms Relief
Insomnia Care

Human growth Hormone and Melatonin

… possible anticarcinogens

Human Growth Hormone the “fountain of youth”

The pituitary puts out HGH in bursts; levels rise following exercise, trauma, and sleep. Under normal conditions, more GH is produced at night than during the day.