sleep-wake cycle Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Exciting Potential: How to IMPROVE Your Brain Function with Melatonin

AHA Publisher — Mon, 06 Dec 2021 08:00:01 +0000

Lori Alton via Naturalhealth365 – According to a recent report published in Alzheimer’s and Dementia Journal, Alzheimer’s disease – the sixth leading cause of death in the United States – claimed over 121,000 lives in 2019 alone, before the pandemic had swept the nation. Alzheimer’s disease claimed over 121,000 lives in 2019 alone, before the pandemic had swept the nation Meanwhile, the Alzheimer’s Association has released a sobering new statistic – deaths from Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia have increased by a significant 16 percent since the onset of COVID-19. However, a natural intervention for the condition is casting a ray of hope. In a recent review article in the peer-reviewed journal Revue Neurologique, researchers report that the natural hormone melatonin shows exciting potential to prevent and even alleviate neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. In fact, the impressed scientists even concluded that “melatonin may be the solution we have been looking for.” Why are they so hopeful about the neuroprotective effects of melatonin? Let’s find out. Melatonin Sharpens Memory and Increases Formation of New Brain Cells Melatonin, commonly known as the “sleep hormone,” is produced in the pineal gland in the brain. This critical hormone regulates the circadian rhythms and the sleep-wake cycle while improving the overall quality of sleep. Researchers have long believed that melatonin may improve memory and cognition. And, the “proof is in the pudding.” In an older – but still influential – placebo-controlled study published in Psychopharmacology, 50 young men were given a one-time, 3-mg dose of melatonin. The effects were rapid, unequivocal, and clear-cut, with participants in the melatonin group able to recall more objects from a memorized list than those in the placebo group! The researchers concluded that melatonin could suppress the stress-induced hormones that affect memory processing. But does melatonin work for older individuals? Neuroprotective Effects of Melatonin May Improve Alzheimer’s Disease While melatonin exists in generous amounts in young people, it appears that supplies decrease with age. The review authors noted that patients with Alzheimer’s disease have lower melatonin levels than healthy people of the same age – and that melatonin deficiency may play a vital role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Raising melatonin levels in the body may not only combat age-related memory decline and cognitive impairment – but, the neuroprotective effects of melatonin may help slow the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Scientists point out that almost half of all Alzheimer’s patients have problems with sleep. Lack of sleep is associated with increased plaque deposits of beta-amyloid, a protein strongly implicated in the development of the disease. Melatonin promotes the type of refreshing sleep needed for efficient brain function and accurate memory, with clinical studies supporting the ability of the hormone to slow the progression of cognitive disorders. Melatonin Improves Brain Function Through Multiple Mechanisms The neuroprotective effects of melatonin can be attributed to many factors. Melatonin appears to cushion the brain from the effects of “stress” hormones – such as epinephrine, cortisol, and norepinephrine – which can impair memory. It also increases levels of a protein known as a brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which increases the formation of neurons. In addition, cell studies have shown that melatonin improves plasticity, the ability of the brain to change and adapt to new experiences. Finally, melatonin is a potent antioxidant that scavenges harmful free radicals (reactive oxygen species) that would otherwise cause oxidative stress and damage to cells and tissues, thereby triggering disease. Impressively, studies have shown that melatonin can even help to counter damage from memory-impairing drugs, including the chemotherapy drug fluorouracil and the anti-nausea medication scopolamine. Researchers theorize that melatonin achieved this by promoting cell division in the hippocampus, the brain’s “memory center.” Improve Sleep and Cognition with Melatonin Natural health experts advise using a high-quality melatonin formulation from a reputable vendor, with typical amounts ranging between 0.5 mg and 10 mg a day. To promote restful sleep, melatonin should be taken about 30 minutes before bedtime. However, if you take melatonin to correct out-of-sync circadian rhythms over the long term, it should be taken two to three hours before bedtime. Naturally, check with your integrative doctor before supplementing with melatonin. As a “pro” tip: The amino acid tryptophan is needed for the body to produce melatonin. You can raise your dietary intake of tryptophan with raw cheese, pasture-raised organic chicken, pumpkin seeds, and wild caught fish. In addition to the devastating human toll of Alzheimer’s disease – such as loss of precious memories and the ability to function independently – the financial burden of this illness is staggering. In fact, the national cost for Alzheimer’s and other dementias in 2021 is expected to clock in at $355 billion. No doubt, the relatively inexpensive, non-toxic, convenient, and safe choice of consuming melatonin may well emerge as an effective natural intervention for this cruel health issue. Sources for this article include: Alzheimers.org NIH.gov Healthline.com NIH.gov To read the original article click here.

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Spring Forward Your Clock, But Don’t Fall Back On Your Sleep

AHA Publisher — Mon, 15 Mar 2021 07:00:19 +0000

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston via Newswise – Daylight saving time [was yesterday], and as many look forward to the longer and warmer days that accompany this time change, losing an hour of sleep can have you feeling out of sorts. An expert with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) shares why it’s important to prepare our bodies for the time change. “Daylight saving time is really hard on our internal clock,” said Kristin Eckel-Mahan, PhD, assistant professor in the Center for Metabolic and Degenerative Diseases at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth. “Our bodies function off our circadian rhythm, which works in sync with the outside light-dark cycle. So, when we advance our clock one hour it can really impact how our bodies react.” Although it is only an hour, Eckel-Mahan says it is difficult for our internal or circadian clock to make the sudden change. The circadian rhythm is the 24-hour cycle that is part of the body’s internal clock, and a critical part of the circadian rhythm is our sleep-wake cycle. The sleep-wake cycle is our daily pattern that determines when it’s time to sleep and when it’s time to be awake. To prepare for the upcoming time change, Eckel-Mahan recommends to begin gradually adjusting your sleep routine one week ahead of daylight saving time. “If you begin to adjust your sleep-wake cycle by just 10 minutes a day for the six days leading up to daylight saving time, you can really ease yourself into the hour time change. Doing this can be very helpful in adjusting your internal clock,” Eckel-Mahan said. Light plays a significant role in adjusting our sleep-wake cycles. According to Eckel-Mahan, dimming the lights earlier to adjust to the upcoming time change and exposing yourself to brighter light in the morning can be a very effective way to shift your circadian rhythm to maintain a good night’s rest. In addition to adjusting your sleep schedule, Eckel-Mahan suggests changing what time you eat. “While light is the primary driver of our brain clock, food is a very strong driver of several peripheral organs. If you are eating late at night, even in dim light, it will send a different cue to your organs like your liver, or your muscles. So, I would suggest cutting the food off a little earlier and get it in sync with the adjustments you make to your sleep, because that is something that will really affect your internal clock,” she said. Sleep plays an important role in cognition and biological processes such as restoring energy to the body and the removal of waste products from brain cells. “Sleep is incredibly important to your health, and just as important as eating healthy and exercising,” Eckel-Mahan said. “Research shows poor sleep can put you at an increased risk of unhealthy weight gain, heart disease, and diabetes.” Practicing these changes with the entire family can be beneficial to children and even pets. This article has been modified. To read the original article click here.

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Study Pinpoints Specific Areas of the Brain Where Serotonin Promotes Patience

AHA Publisher — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 08:00:01 +0000

Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate University via News-Medical Net – We’ve all been there. Whether we’re stuck in traffic at the end of a long day, or eagerly anticipating the release of a new book, film or album, there are times when we need to be patient. Learning to suppress the impulse for instant gratification is often vital for future success, but how patience is regulated in the brain remains poorly understood. Now, in a study on mice conducted by the Neural Computation Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), the authors, Dr. Katsuhiko Miyazaki and Dr. Kayoko Miyazaki, pinpoint specific areas of the brain that individually promote patience through the action of serotonin. Their findings were published 27thNovember in Science Advances. Serotonin is one of the most famous neuromodulators of behavior, helping to regulate mood, sleep-wake cycles and appetite. Our research shows that release of this chemical messenger also plays a crucial role in promoting patience, increasing the time that mice are willing to wait for a food reward.” Dr. Katsuhiko Miyazaki, Author Their most recent work draws heavily on previous research, where the unit used a powerful technique called optogenetics – using light to stimulate specific neurons in the brain – to establish a causal link between serotonin and patience. The scientists bred genetically engineered mice which had serotonin-releasing neurons that expressed a light-sensitive protein. This meant that the researchers could stimulate these neurons to release serotonin at precise times by shining light, using an optical fiber implanted in the brain. The researchers found that stimulating these neurons while the mice were waiting for food increased their waiting time, with the maximum effect seen when the probability of receiving a reward was high but when the timing of the reward was uncertain. “In other words, for the serotonin to promote patience, the mice had to be confident that a reward would come but uncertain about when it would arrive,” said Dr. Miyazaki. In the previous study, the scientists focused on an area of the brain called the dorsal raphe nucleus – the central hub of serotonin-releasing neurons. Neurons from the dorsal raphe nucleus reach out into other areas of the forebrain and in their most recent study, the scientists explored specifically which of these other brain areas contributed to regulating patience. The team focused on three brain areas that had been shown to increase impulsive behaviors when they were damaged – a deep brain structure called the nucleus accumbens, and two parts of the frontal lobe called the orbitofrontal cortex and the medial prefrontal cortex. “Impulse behaviors are intrinsically linked to patience – the more impulsive an individual is, the less patient – so these brain areas were prime candidates,” explained Dr. Miyazaki. Good things come to those who wait (or not…) In the study, the scientists implanted optical fibers into the dorsal raphe nucleus and also one of either the nucleus accumbens, the orbitofrontal cortex, or the medial prefrontal cortex. The researchers trained mice to perform a waiting task where the mice held with their nose inside a hole, called a “nose poke”, until a food pellet was delivered. The scientists rewarded the mice in 75% of trials. In some test conditions, the timing of the reward was fixed at six or ten seconds after the mice started the nose poke and in other test conditions, the timing of the reward varied. In the remaining 25% of trials, called the omission trials, the scientists did not provide a food reward to the mice. They measured how long the mice continued performing the nose poke during omission trials – in other words, how patient they were – when serotonin-releasing neurons were and were not stimulated. When the researchers stimulated serotonin-releasing neural fibers that reached into the nucleus accumbens, they found no increase in waiting time, suggesting that serotonin in this area of the brain has no role in regulating patience. But when the scientists stimulated serotonin release in the orbitofrontal cortex and the medial prefrontal cortex while the mice were holding the nose poke, they found the mice waited longer, with a few crucial differences. In the orbitofrontal cortex, release of serotonin promoted patience as effectively as serotonin activation in the dorsal raphe nucleus; both when reward timing was fixed and when reward timing was uncertain, with stronger effects in the latter. But in the medial prefrontal cortex, the scientists only saw an increase in patience when the timing of the reward was varied, with no effect observed when the timing was fixed. “The differences seen in how each area of the brain responded to serotonin suggests that each brain area contributes to the overall waiting behavior of the mice in separate ways,” said Dr. Miyazaki. Modeling patience To investigate this further, the scientists constructed a computational model to explain the waiting behavior of the mice. The model assumes that the mice have an internal model of the timing of reward delivery and keep estimating the probability that a reward will be delivered. They can therefore judge over time whether they are in a reward or non-reward trial and decide whether or not to keep waiting. The model also assumes that the orbitofrontal cortex and the medial prefrontal cortex use different internal models of reward timing, with the latter being more sensitive to variations in timing, to calculate reward probabilities individually. The researchers found that the model best fitted the experimental data of waiting time by increasing the expected reward probability from 75% to 94% under serotonin stimulation. Put more simply, serotonin increased the mice’s belief that they were in a reward trial, and so they waited longer. Importantly, the model showed that stimulation of the dorsal raphe nucleus increased the probability from 75% to 94% in both the orbital frontal cortex and the medial prefrontal cortex, whereas stimulation of the brain areas separately only increased the probability in that particular area. “This confirmed the idea that these two brain areas are calculating the probability of a reward independently from each other, and that these independent calculations are then combined to ultimately determine how long the mice will wait,” explained Dr. Miyazaki. “This sort of complementary system allows animals to behave more flexibly to changing environments.” Ultimately, increasing our knowledge of how different areas of the brain are more or less affected by serotonin could have vital implications in future development of drugs. For example, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are drugs that boost levels of serotonin in the brain and are used to treat depression. “This is an area we are keen to explore in the future, by using depression models of mice,” said Dr. Miyazaki. “We may find under certain genetic or environmental conditions that some of these identified brain areas have altered functions. By pinning down these regions, this could open avenues to provide more targeted treatments that act on specific areas of the brain, rather than the whole brain.” To read the original article click here.

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