Sleeping in a DARK ROOM for the Pineal Gland

This article is directly quoted from "Baseline of Health Foundation" from a 2010 newsletter.

As medically theorized, the pineal gland responds to the ebbs and flow of light entering our eyes during the day. In the evening, the pineal gland reacts to the diminishing levels of daylight and starts to produce melatonin, which is then released into the blood and flows through the body making us drowsy. Its secretion peaks in the middle of the night during our heaviest hours of sleep. In the morning, bright light shining through the eyelids reaches the pineal gland which reacts by switching off the production of melatonin, thus removing the desire to sleep. And we wake!

But this description is incomplete in one significant aspect. As it turns out, the pineal gland can be diminished not only by light shining on the eyelids, but by light shining anywhere on the body. Literally, light striking any part of your skin can reduce production of melatonin from the pineal gland.

In any case, the key when it comes to the pineal gland and melatonin is that it's important to sleep in a darkened room, with no light coming through the curtains or night lights turned on in the room. And wearing eyeshades won't help as the pineal can sense any light shining on your skin. Failure to sleep in a darkened room will inhibit melatonin production, which presents a series of health problems, not the least of which is an inability to sleep deeply. But beyond that, if continued for too long, it will literally shut down the pineal and cause it to atrophy. At that point, your only choice will be to use melatonin supplements.

Date: 05/31/2010 Posted By: Jon Barron