8/3/2019 SL - Melatonin and the Slee--Wake Cycle

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/sl-melatonin-and-the-slee-wake-cycle 1/2

i hope our information about melatonin and sleep-wake cycle

had helped you to balance your body clocks. Now, we will give

you some tips that you can follow easily in order to have a

healthy life by balancing your sleep hours.

1)  Since pineal gland is very sensitive with the light, youseriously need curtains to block the light while you're

sleeping. (which will be during the daytime)

2)  Reduce Caffeins: we understand that the coffee or any other

caffeins such as soft drinks and chocolates are your best

friends at work; caffeins are enough to cause insomnia.

3)  Sleep for at least 7 to 8 hours: this is scientifically proven

that humans need to sleep at least 7-8 hours so that the

brain can function properly. If you sleep too little or too

much, you will not be able to focus on your works.

4)  Take melatonin pills if youre suffering from insomnia for a

long period of time. BUT, we do not recommend you to take

it more than two years because your body might be immune

to the pills if you take it too much.

those are the practical tips that you can follow easily. It is

hard to follow at first time, but if you practice it, you ll be able

to manage it and will not be able to suffer from any sleep-wake

cycle disorders. Thank you!

From Chelsea Lee, Kevin Do, Anthony Chun :D

Balance YourBody Clocks 

Human Resources Department of Brent Call Center

Brent November Special Edition

Human Resources Department of Brent Call Center

8/3/2019 SL - Melatonin and the Slee--Wake Cycle

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/sl-melatonin-and-the-slee-wake-cycle 2/2

hello, shift workers of Brent Call Center!

We are here to help you to adjust and balance your body

clocks. First, lets learn about Melatonin and the

Sleep-wake cycle. 

Melatonin is a hormone with a role inthe cycle of sleep. It is secreted from

the pineal gland at the base of the brain.

Produced by the pea-size pineal gland in

the brain, melatonin helps the body to

regulate its Sleep-Wake Cycle. A high

level of melatonin tells the body that it

is time to sleep, and a low level tells the body that it is time to

wake up (Brown).

Pineal gland is called as the third eye

because of its ability to sense changes in

light. It relies on signals from the eyes

and other sense organs relating to light

and temperature for information about

the time of day. It responds by secreting

melatonin during darkness but not in light (Dyal).Major action of Melatonin: it communicates with the pituitary

gland, which then inhibits the secretion of many other

hormones in the body that relate to states of wakefulness.

Melatonins main role in sleep: turn off the body (Drali).

Frequent disruptions in melatonin production may impair the

ability to think clearly and make sound decisions. Lots of shift

workers suffer from shift work disorder. Common symptoms

include sleepiness during work hours, difficulty sleeping during

off-hours, lethargy, headaches

and decreased concentration.

Another disorder includes insomnia, 

which  refers to a difficulty in

achieving or maintaining normal sleep (Murray).

now, did you understand how melatonin and sleep-

wake cycle work? Lets look at the study that will

help you to understand better.

Professor Richard Wurtman from MIT analyzed 17 peer-reviewed

scientific papers about the hormone to find out the melatonins

value as a sleep aid. He used a meta-analysis, wherein he analyzed

the results and hypothesis of previous studies done on melatonin as

a sleep aid. The melatonin meta-analysis delivered a definite yes.As a result, Professor Wurtman confirmed that melatonin is an

effective sleep aid for older insomniacs and others. Furthermore,

theyve also found that commercially available melatonin pills

contain 10 times the effective amount.

This study is greatly in depth and detailed, provides analysis that is

both observable and non-observable, has high ecological validity of

data because it is applicable to real life situations, and finally, it is

most suitable for behavior related study. Moreover, it is easy to

generalize for major groups due to the fact that the studies haddifferent participants leading to the use of varied cultural

backgrounds. Moreover, it is also difficult to repeat the experiment

and it is time consuming and expensive.

Although the study was successful, it was criticized for being biased

toward verification as it was trying to get evidence for what was

widely known not the other way around. Also, it was too difficult to

interpret the results due to great number of factors and use of

many different studies.