Category Archives: Good Night
Lack of Sleep Contributes to Heart Disease and Stroke
Not getting enough sleep may have more serious consequences than dark circles under your eyes the next morning. Current studies indicate that people who regularly sleep less than six hours a night have quadruple the risk of suffering a stroke than those who get seven or eight hours of sleep. A lack of sleep is linked to a range of disorders which often lead to early death. According to the study of hundreds of thousands of people across eight countries, chronic short sleep results into production of specific hormones and chemicals in the body which increases the risk of developing high blood pressure, strokes, heart disease and other conditions such as high level of cholesterol, diabetes and obesity.
Melatonin: better sleep and greater protection against damage to DNA
Your body has its own internal clock that regulate your natural sleep and wake cycles. Melatonin is better known as a hormone made in your body by the pineal gland (a small gland in the brain) to help control these cycles. The principal factor affecting melatonin production is light which inhibits the secretion of this hormone while darkness istigates the pineal gland to increase melatonin secretion. At the same time many studies revealed that, in addtion to its sleep-enhancing benefits, this hormone acts as a powerful and versatile antioxidant which protects both lipids and proteins against damage by scavenging some of the most dangerous free radicals in the body.
