Posted by SLS on January 18, 2009, at 16:00:50
In reply to Re: sleep cycle, posted by SLS on January 18, 2009, at 15:09:32
I just read an interesting article.
It seems that there is some variability in the optimum dosage and optimum time to take melatonin to enhance sleep. Interindividual rates of absorption and metabolism of melatonin can vary greatly. In addition, the time best taken can vary as much as 3 hours. Still, the average time to take melatonin ranges between 30 and 60 minutes before bed; the ideal time for bed being between 10:00pm and 11:00pm.
Again, we are relegated to trial-and-error unless one wishes to go for a sleep study to evaluate melatonin production curves. However, I think that if one is methodical, they can arrive at his own optimized use of melatonin.
Dan Oren and Thomas Wehr have been studying this stuff for years. They were both at the NIH while I was there. I think Dr. Oren has since moved to Yale University. You can use their names on Google to locate some good literature. They discuss how best to manipulate the sleep-wake cycle and various other issues regarding chronopsychobiology.
The suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus is the site in the brain of the master clock and must be reset every day by zeitgebers (environmental cues) such as daylight and temperature, and even social cues. Of these, light is the most important. Using bright light treatments in the morning can help reset the master clock (formally X-Clock) and help synchronize the other biological clocks (mostly endocrine) that are now known to exist. If one needs to delay sleep effectively, he may use bright light treatments at night. However, for some of us, this can be depressogenic, just as advancing the clock can be antidepressant. Is depressolytic a word? If not, for the sake of symmetry, it should be.
This is fascinating stuff of which I don't know nearly enough. There has been an explosion of data coming in regarding chronobiology, including the effects of lithium. There is quite a bit that is now understood, thanks to Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies). Just about every cell in nature has its own circadian apparatus.
It wasn't too many years ago that the pineal gland was considered a functionless vestigial structure analogous to the appendix.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:874735
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090104/msgs/874794.html