Changing Your Clock: New Research Explores How Your Body Keeps Time

re: Changing Your Clock: New Research Explores How Your Body Keeps Time

prune unit — Mon, 26 May 2008 22:53:01 GMT

one problem with the whole blackout scenario is that while you ideally need blackout conditions for healthy sleep, you need healthy gradual light for the waking process, so you lose the opportunity for gradual natural sunlight through your windows (given your house could provide this). Not all of us want to spring for a multi-thousand dollar artificial sun to keep in the middle of the bedroom to wake to. Unless we have an ultra-helpful spouse who is willing to open the blinds for us each morning, if I go to sleep in blackout conditions, my wake up process is quite uglier than it would have to be.

re: Changing Your Clock: New Research Explores How Your Body Keeps Time

LoriSmi — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:56:59 GMT

I am 48 years old and most of my life I have had a different sleeping pattern depending on the season. I go to sleep about 5 hours after the sun does. I started watching this in my early 20's as I noticed I had such a hard time rising in the winter. I would have to get up for work by 5:30-6:30am and it just about killed me in the winter months.

I can go to bed around 1-4am in the summer and I am up by 7:30-8:30, no matter how late I go to bed. I just can't sleep with the sun up and shining and ready to start the day. In the winter I can go to bed at 11pm and have to drag myself out of bed at 9:30 am!!! I often must get up earlier than this to haul akid to work, but then I will crawl back into bed for an hour or two....

It can be annoying to have this weird cycle. I also often have sleep issues and cannot go into a deep sleep so that I feel like i am dozing all night and not sleeping hard. I do not wake refreshed. And sometimes I have insomnia real bad. I do not have worries or other issues that should be keeping me awake. My great aunt sleeps 2-4 hours a night (she is 82) and she is up and running the next day. She says she's done this for years. My oldest daughter (age 30) has insomnia issues, too. Coudl this be genetic? I think so.

I can run on 4-6 hours of sleep a night in the summer and I will need 9-12 hours of sleep a night in the winter. I can understand why the Siberians sleep! It is dark out and the body knows it is time to sleep when the sun is down.

re: Changing Your Clock: New Research Explores How Your Body Keeps Time

DDS_203 — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 19:00:06 GMT

"install some blackout drapes or shades in your bedroom, get rid of any nightlights, and by all means, if you get up to go to the bathroom during the night, don’t turn the light on" THIS is utter nonsense!!!!!!! The main reasons elderly fall in the middle of the night is because they trip on something they didn't see or they lose their balance. Have you ever tried to stand on one leg with your eyes shut....very difficult and even more so for the elderly!

"You should at least strive to sleep between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. This means you should be in bed, with the lights out, by 10 p.m. and be up by 6 a.m." This is also nonsense!!!!! Not everyone needs the same amount of sleep and it can also vary from winter to summer.

re: Changing Your Clock: New Research Explores How Your Body Keeps Time

skip smyth — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 19:38:02 GMT

Any study(ies) on cops available? Swing shifts, usually 3 mos. nights, two afternoons, or intermediate then a month of day shift. Configuration may vary from one dept. to another but you must cover those 'heavy' hours.

re: Changing Your Clock: New Research Explores How Your Body Keeps Time

babyblue23 — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:09:09 GMT

Hi all!

just like a few of you, I also cannot get more than 5~6 hours of straight sleep. :(

but I agree, having the bedroom as dark as possible helps.

I have one guestion tho. I routinely let my dog out a night to relieve himself 2 or 3 times a night and have been doing this for more than 12 yrs. Could this nightly routine be dementrial to me? I feel I must let him out.....

by the way, I am so glad I found Dr Mercola and this community!

re: Changing Your Clock: New Research Explores How Your Body Keeps Time

ilovewings — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:52:42 GMT

Bad Advice: if you have to go to the bathroom DON'T TURN THE LIGHT ON?? WHAT KIND OF ADVICE IS THAT? I guess it is better to slip and fall and break a hip that to get a little light into your life in the middle of the night; please USE COMMON SENSE

re: Changing Your Clock: New Research Explores How Your Body Keeps Time

Mad_203 — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 03:58:57 GMT

I question the need for absolute darkness year 'round. Whether you believe in a 6 day creation or millions of years of evolution, one ineluctable fact remains: Our ancestors didn't have the benefit of "room darkening shades" and slept with moonlight shining through the windows (albeit smaller windows than we moderns have) for much of each 28 day lunar cycle. This would be especially true of nomadic peoples living in tents and animal herders who spend an entire summer sleeping with their flocks & herds under the stars. Wouldn't evolution or creation have suited us for these various sleeping conditions, i.e., waxing and waning nighttime light levels?

Then there is the matter of people living close to either pole who have light skies all summer and short dark days all winter. Has anyone done a study on native arctic peoples and how their "inner clock" accommodates the extremes in day & night length? This would interest me personally because my great grandmother was a native of Sweden going back to the Sami race. If racial heritage has anything to do with determining our rhythms, then no wonder I can't seem to find my groove. I cover the map from Sweden to Africa, with a dash of Caribbean thrown in to spice things up! Generally, though, I am a night owl who doesn't lack for energy. If I try to go to bed early and get up early it throws me off kilter. Probably just habit, but at age 64 a difficult one to beat.

re: Changing Your Clock: New Research Explores How Your Body Keeps Time

blink183 — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:38:44 GMT

I am completely blind and have no light perception. I often find that I will dose off in the middle of the day because I keep my eyes closed and the sunlight doesn't keep me awake. This makes falling asleep at night very difficult for me. What can I do to get this under control?

re: Changing Your Clock: New Research Explores How Your Body Keeps Time

MindBodyHealth — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:06:36 GMT

I am a mother of newborn twins and am wondering what steps I can take to avoid all of the negative effects of sleep disruption. It is simply not an option for a nursing mother of twins to avoid sleepless nights. Any ideas?

re: Changing Your Clock: New Research Explores How Your Body Keeps Time

charmus — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:27:01 GMT

> Ultimately, your body is a phenomenal source of feedback. If it is telling you to stay up during the night, and you

> feel great afterward, then go for it as it is likely OK for you. The key is to honor the signals your body is giving you

> no matter what some “expert” tells you. My experience, however, is that it is very rare for most to be honestly and

> consistently in communication with their body's signals, and that is a powerful reason why so many get sick.

Thank you Dr. Mercola, I have been advocating this to so many people...to listen to their bodies' signals. I do and therefore haven't been sick in years. I am night owl, but I keep a regular schedule and go to sleep between 2-3 am. I have ideal weight, exercise moderately and eat healthy. I sleep very well, usually fall asleep 5-10 min after going to bed. I

PS: Unfortunately, when you take meds, you often won't be able to hear your body's signals. I do not take any meds. This is why I can listen to my body's signals and am so healthy!

PS2: Try to sleep as close to a tree as possible. Take the closest tree to your bedroom and visualize that tree to help you fall asleep and to recharge your energy while you sleep and be thankful to that tree. Also at the same time stop worrying about losing sleep and try to get at least 6-7 hours of sleep. With a combination of these, you will see how your sleep will improve before you know it, but be patient please!

re: Changing Your Clock: New Research Explores How Your Body Keeps Time

tetrault.vrga — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:43:42 GMT

rainbowtrout: I'm 30 and was diagnosed bipolar when I was 20. I spent about 6 years on all kinds of meds, usually 5 or 6 at a time (including lithium, valproate, olanzapam just to name a few). I'm off all the meds now, and often feel cheated by my doctors back then, but I still think that one of the only pieces of useful pieces of advice I got from my therapists is to stick to a routine. I don't necessarily recommend stopping the meds cold turkey as I did, but here's what worked for me (and I'm healthier than I've ever been):

(1) a daily routine including getting up early and doing very vigorous exercise every single morning and going outside to get some daylight every single day, regardless of how high or how low I am. going outside every day cues your body about the time cycles and I'm sure the vitamin D from the sun also helps. The exercise stabalizes my moods and makes me sleep better at night. I also do some less vigorous exercise in the evening, like a few yoga poses after dinner.

(2) eating very cleanly, watching my glycemic load

(3) massive amounts of concentrated pharmaceutical grade fish oil

I really recommend trying to find a routine that works for you; maybe you only need a few hours sleep, but it should be at the same time every night. Good luck.

re: Changing Your Clock: New Research Explores How Your Body Keeps Time

sdoz44 — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:06:45 GMT

Help out there in the world of Mercola,

I usually wake up late at night for a snack. Which I understand can have something to do with raised insulin levels. Now... if I am disrupting my arcadian rythm could that have something to do with why my sexual clock kicks in around 3:00pm? Not at night, but more mid afternoon.

re: Changing Your Clock: New Research Explores How Your Body Keeps Time

Esoterical Angel — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:42:03 GMT

I've always been a night owl, but over the last 15 years the ability to sleep 5 hours in a row has been 99% elusive. I have gone to Doctors, studied the problem, darkened my room so that it is pitch black in the day time, and 1 - 3 hours in a row is all I can get.

Recently a Doctor ran an adrenal test that involved testing the saliva 4 times in a 24 hour period. My cortisol levels were so high he said he wondered how I ever slept.

He put me on Phosphatidyl Serine Complex which I take one hour before bedtime. the last test results showed that my cortisol levels at midnight and 8 a.m. are normal, but still very high at noon and 4 pm. Cortisol should be low at night so you can sleep and higher in the morning so you want to wake up. My levels prevented me from sleep, and going to bed every night at 10:00 did NOT help, but only caused frustration. I am now able to go to bed on most nights several hours earlier than the 3 and 4 a.m. of before. Hopefully as the cortisol levels become normal, I will be able to go to bed at 11 p.m. and wake up 8 hours later - - refreshed.

The other change I have seen since taking that supplement at night, is that I have had several nights where I have slept over 5 hours straight, and twice that I slept over 6 hours straight.

Sleeping medications are not an option since I have sleep apnea.

It saddens me that over 15 years of unrefreshing sleep had to be experienced before a Doctor ran a test to identify a problem.

re: Changing Your Clock: New Research Explores How Your Body Keeps Time

Dr.mountain mama — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:48:01 GMT

"And in one surprising finding, researchers found that a single amino acid change in a protein triggers a chain of genetic events involved in internal timekeeping.

If this single modification is impaired, it could disrupt the cascade and serve as the underpinning of circadian rhythm-related ailments."

That last line made me wonder if somehow the GMO frankenfoods being dumped in our food supply might be operational in disrupting biorhythms. Jeffrey Smith has linked aberrant proteins in GMO foods with allergies. Perhaps they are also causing sleep problems as well. Just one more reason to buy local, avoid processed foods and eat organic as much as possible.

re: Changing Your Clock: New Research Explores How Your Body Keeps Time

OnlyTruth — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:30:44 GMT

In my local paper they did a story on alternative treatments and this statement actually appeared:

....."Homeopathic means not regulated by the FDA." I was stunned. I thought we had come further than that.