There is an old Ayurvedic dictum that people should eat their dinner around sunset and then go to bed for a healthy life. That concept was based on the fact that our bodily activities and metabolism are different during the day and night. Obviously this was born in olden days, when there was no electricity and so people were dependent on dim oil lights to stay awake and have dinner after the sunset. But, in fact, it is not the light, but melatonin that is needed to keep our body clock to change from day to night. We may consider that 9 PM is nighttime, but our body will not do so until melatonin is released into circulation. The latter will not occur when there is bright fluorescent light on in the room. As our eyes perceive less light or darkness, melatonin is secreted from the pineal body in the brain, which shuts of every system or organ like the machines in a factory are shut of at the end of the day. That is when we feel like sleeping. It used to be like that until electricity was invented and spread across the globe. When I was in elementary school, there was no electricity in my ancestral village. So, they used to eat dinner before dusk and go to bed. After the village was electrified, they were still eating dinner early, but keeping awake after that talking or playing cards. Now they watch TV after dusk and eat dinner late after a beer session. Our blood melatonin levels will be low as long as there is bright light in the room. So our inner system is not shut off. This is what affects our health. Should we blame Thomas Alva Edison for all our health problems for inventing light bulb?
The advent of electricity and bright fluorescent lights has broken the functioning of our body clock by disturbing the secretion of melatonin. The result is today many people suffer either with lack of sufficient sleep or have improper sleeping habits. This in turn affects the health resulting in diseases such as insulin resistance leading to T2DM and predisposing to cancers. Chronic sleep deprivation also negatively impact our performance and thus results in loss of productivity.
To overcome the above, many people take melatonin tablets before going to bed on daily basis. Melatonin is not classified as a medicine by the FDA and it is sold in the grocery stores as an over-the-counter nutritional supplement. In view of its ability to set the body clock to its normal rhythm, melatonin is also used to overcome jet lag after a long distance air travel.
While taking melatonin tablets at bedtime is a good option, this article by Linda Geddes, a science journalist is not only thought-provoking, but also offers several useful trips on how to improve our sleep habits and pattern by regulating our body clock without the use of melatonin tablets. This approach is a more natural way, as people may not know that taking melatonin tablets and then switching of the lights and going to bed to only play with their smart phones is not good or no use. Please read the following article by Linda Geddes, which is composed of excerpts from her book Chasing the Sun published by the Penguin Books.