Posted by SLS on January 18, 2009, at 15:09:32
In reply to Re: sleep cycle » mav27, posted by Garnet71 on January 18, 2009, at 13:19:45
For a normal 8 hour sleep cycle beginning at 10:00pm or 11:00pm, the pineal gland squirts out the most melatonin at about 2:00am. It then falls off gradually the rest of the night until it is cut off entirely when the retina of the eye is exposed to light. I forget when it makes the most sense to take melatonin before going to bed. You don't want melatonin to peak before 2:00am as this will tend to desynchronize the biological clocks. This is what might be making people feel less rested than they would expect and would screw up the next day's rhythms of the other hormones. It might be best to wait until 11:00pm.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:874735
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090104/msgs/874787.html