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Understanding the Link Between Melatonin and Metabolism

There a variety of factors that affect your metabolism, including both genetic and external influences. As scientists learn more about metabolism and weight loss, it is becoming clear that the body’s production of melatonin may play a role in maintaining a healthy weight. Here are a few things to understand about melatonin and metabolism, and why sufficient levels of melatonin are important to your overall health.

The Relationship Between Melatonin and Metabolism

melatonin and metabolismMelatonin is the body’s naturally occurring hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. The body releases more melatonin later in the day in response to decreasing light levels as it prepares the body for slumber. Melatonin levels stay elevated for approximately 12 hours each night to promote a restful night’s sleep. Conversely, melatonin levels begin to plunge in the morning until they are barely detectable, allowing the body to awaken and start a new day. The rising and falling of melatonin levels are a crucial contributing factor to the body’s circadian rhythms.

The connection between melatonin and metabolism is clearly a complicated relationship. However, scientists have determined beyond a doubt that the sleep hormone melatonin can encourage weight loss by increasing the amount of a specific kind of fat that is essential in burning off energy. This energy burn then boosts metabolism and causes the body to shed weight in the process.

Understanding Glucose and Metabolism

Research has demonstrated a strong link between poor sleep cycles and type 2 diabetes. The latest findings demonstrate that melatonin may be helpful in treating conditions such as metabolic dysfunction.

Low levels of melatonin are related to insulin resistance, a condition that increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. In studies involving mice, supplemental levels of melatonin have been demonstrated to boost sensitivity to insulin and lower blood sugar levels. This suggests that the use of melatonin may be instrumental in improving glucose function and keeping the body’s metabolism functioning at optimal levels. In a nutshell, melatonin affects sleep, which affects insulin, which then subsequently affects metabolism.

How Metabolism Affects Overall Obesity Risk

Metabolic rates vary greatly between individuals. While some people naturally experience a higher metabolic rate, other people have to fight harder to keep weight gain at bay because of a slower metabolism.

Your overall risk for becoming obese is elevated if you have a naturally slow metabolic rate because your body has to work harder to burn calories. An excess amount of calories that are not burned off each day will inevitably lead to weight gain.

Those who are at risk for developing obesity would be wise to understand what they can do to boost their metabolism. Part of this approach involves ensuring that the body is operating with sufficient levels of melatonin so that a quality sleep cycle can be achieved and metabolism is at its most efficient.

Your Sleep and Your Weight

It is no secret that sleep cycles and weight gain or loss are closely connected. Your body’s natural circadian rhythms largely dictate the quality of sleep that you enjoy. As summer approaches and the days get longer, it is more important than ever to make sure that your internal clock is properly calibrated.

A properly functioning circadian rhythm will naturally translate to better sleep and a healthier weight. The research is clear that too much extraneous light can interfere with the circadian rhythms, disrupting sleep and leading to weight gain.

Here are a few things that you can do to ensure that you get adequate sleep each night simply by supporting a healthy circadian rhythm.

Reduce Overall Light Pollution

A pervading low level of light can have negative consequences on your metabolism as it disrupts the circadian rhythms. Light pollution can come from a variety of sources including street lamps and nightlights. Taking active steps to minimize this light will help to regulate your circadian rhythms as well as your metabolism.

Shut Off Electronic Devices

melatonin and metabolismOne of the most common ways to disrupt your body’s natural sleep cycle is exposure to the blue light that comes from mobile phones, laptops and tablets. This specific type of light makes it more difficult for your brain to relax and get ready for sleep. It is a good idea to shut off all of these devices at least one hour prior to bedtime. Instead of lying in bed winding down by browsing your phone, try reading a book instead.

Resist Looking at Your Phone in the Middle of the Night

We have all been there. After resting soundly for a few hours, you wake unexpectedly and cannot go back to sleep. While it may be tempting to reach for your phone, it is important to avoid this type of light and stimulation if falling back asleep quickly is your goal.

There is still more to learn about the complex relationship between melatonin and metabolism. However, this information is a good start in learning how you can support the essential function of sleep in order to maintain a healthy weight.

Chronobiology and Metabolism: The Role of Clock Genes

Metabolism is one of the most important processes that occurs in the human body. Like all other life processes, it is deeply connected to internal clocks. Several recent studies on chronobiology and metabolism have found that the body’s 24-hour circadian rhythm affects a variety of metabolic processes, indicating that maintaining a healthy sleep-wake cycle maybe even more important than previously believed.

The Importance of Metabolism

Chronobiology and Metabolism: The Impact of Clock Genes 1When we hear the term “metabolism,” most of us think about how quickly we burn calories and about our weight. However, the term means so much more than this. Metabolism encompasses all of the activities that our bodies perform to produce energy, including burning calories, but also a variety of other functions.

When our metabolisms are not working correctly, a variety of things can go wrong. We may become obese or, at the other end of the spectrum, become dangerously thin. We may develop diabetes, thyroid disease or a variety of other illnesses.

Metabolic disease is becoming increasingly common; several studies examining chronobiology and metabolism have even linked it to an increasing rate of sleep disorders and other disorders of the circadian rhythm.

Chronobiology and Metabolism

Circadian clocks are not just present in our brains, but in every cell of our bodies. These clocks receive messages from other parts of the body so that they can remain in sync with other cells. The genes that control these clocks are appropriately known as Clock genes.

Clock genes help our cells to sense the time of day and to react appropriately. For instance, we usually fast at night while we are sleeping, which necessitates very different metabolic processes than during the daytime when we are well-fed and also burning energy at a faster rate.

While our metabolisms keep their own timing to a certain extent, messages from the environment regulate Clock genes and thus help our metabolism to be fine-tuned according to the time of day.

What happens without the work of these Clock genes? Several studies have looked at the health of animals in which these genes have been disabled. These animals all had a far higher occurrence of disorders of the metabolism, including a much higher rate of diabetes.

Can Your Metabolism Affect Your Circadian Rhythm?

Although your internal clocks can affect your metabolism, there is also good evidence that conversely, your metabolism affects your circadian rhythm. The master clocks in our brains rely on a variety of cues to sense the time of day or night. Light is a very important, and perhaps the best-known, cue. Temperature and calorie intake also help our brains to accurately determine the time of day.

Your adipose (or fat) tissue in particular appears to play an important role in regulating your circadian rhythm. Adipose tissue releases hormones that control hunger, energy and other factors. These hormones also communicate with our internal clocks, as we release hormones associated with being fed that in turn tell our circadian rhythm we are awake and active. In this way, food intake can act as a zeitgeber, or internal cue to the time of day.

Our internal clocks communicate with our cells, which then communicate back. When this communication goes smoothly, it becomes a conversation that allows our bodies to synchronize a variety of complex processes with the time of day and our own activities.

Real-Life Applications

Chronobiology and Metabolism: The Impact of Clock Genes 2There are several ways that this information can be used to improve human life. First, understanding the time of day during which different metabolic processes occur is quickly becoming helpful in determining when people should take certain medications. We are quickly learning that some medications, such as blood pressure drugs, work better when taken at particular times of the day.

Second, we are learning more about how we can change our eating habits to support a healthier circadian rhythm. Certain practices such as intermittent fasting appear to have an especially large impact on our internal clocks, helping us to have better whole-body health and an even faster metabolism.

Last, this new information is helping us to prevent disease. We are only beginning to discover all the ways that our circadian rhythms can cause illness when our internal clocks are not ticking on schedule. Eating at certain times of the day and otherwise changing habits to promote a healthy circadian rhythm may prevent a great deal of suffering.

Timing Is Everything

Keeping your circadian rhythm ticking on time is just as important to your health as eating a healthy diet or getting plenty of exercise. In order to live the longest, healthiest life possible, we need to keep our internal clocks aligned. Several new studies are showing us how important our eating habits and metabolic rhythms are in keeping our circadian rhythms — and our health — on track.

Your Choice of Morning Alarm Can Make or Break Your Day

There was a time when most people arose naturally with the dawn. Now, however, it’s common to use some sort of noisy device as a morning alarm to help us wake up on time.

There are a variety of different alarms available, from simple chimes on our phones to old-fashioned clock radios to new alarms that beam light to mimic sun shining on our sleepy faces. A new study suggests that the simple choice of which morning alarm to use may have an effect on how we feel and how we perform throughout the day.

Sleep Inertia: A Common Health Issue

Your Choice of Morning Alarm Can Make or Break Your Day 1Many of us are familiar with that groggy, confused feeling often encountered immediately after waking up. When this happens, you may have trouble thinking, difficulty putting sentences together and even find it a challenge to go through your morning routine. For most, this phenomenon, known as sleep inertia, is limited to just a few minutes after waking in the morning.

Usually, sleep inertia begins to resolve within 15-30 minutes. After just two hours, our bodies and brains should be running at full speed without any sign of early morning grogginess. For some people, however, sleep inertia can be a morning-long or even day-long ordeal.

Those who struggle with prolonged sleep inertia may notice a variety of effects on their lives, including difficulty getting to work or school on time, lower cognitive function and even a higher accident rate.

Sleep inertia appears to be caused by the persistence of brain waves seen in sleep long after we wake. However, we do not know why some people are more prone to suffering from this condition hours after they wake.

Fortunately, simple lifestyle changes appear to make a big difference. According to a new study, the type of alarm clock that you choose may be one of the determining factors in whether you suffer from this disorder on any given morning.

Can Your Morning Alarm Change Your Life?

To find more about the causes of sleep inertia, researchers took a group of participants and asked them about their sleep and waking habits as well as how they felt throughout the day.

When they compiled all of the data, there was one interesting connection: People who woke up to melodic or musical alarms, such as radios or chimes, felt more alert in the morning and suffered lower subjective rates of sleep inertia. Those who woke up to more jarring noises such as beeping reported symptoms of sleep inertia more frequently.

Even more surprisingly, it was discovered that the positive or negative effects of one’s alarm clock choice could last much of the morning. People who had loud and abrasive alarms rather than melodic ones often felt groggy throughout much of the morning.

Incorporating Light Into Your Morning Alarm

There are many options when it comes to morning alarms, each offering a slightly different experience with its own benefits. Although many people assume that annoying noises make the best alarms, this new study suggests just the opposite. Waking with pleasant and melodic noise may actually be the best choice for people who need to awaken quickly and spring right into action.

In addition to choosing the right type of noise, having an alarm clock with lights also appears to make a difference in how you feel in the morning. Being exposed to light similar in quality and strength to natural outdoor light as you are waking up helps you to wake up more easily and to feel refreshed throughout the day. There are many options in light alarm clocks for people who need this extra boost in the early morning.

If you are struggling with other health conditions, these devices can also serve as therapy lamps. Many people with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), jet lag, circadian rhythm issues and other health problems can benefit from light therapy. Getting that light therapy as you are waking up may address your health disorder while also setting you up for a more alert and functional morning.

Waking Up Naturally

Your Choice of Morning Alarm Can Make or Break Your Day 2Humans did not evolve to awaken when an artificial device makes a ruckus. Most morning sounds in nature are soft and pleasant, which may be why research participants felt better when they woke to music and other melodic noises. Adding an element of light may also help us to wake up more alert and ready to take on the day.

Many people function just fine with the old fashioned beeping alarm clocks. However, if you find that you are struggling with grogginess and other symptoms in the morning, changing your alarm setting and adding some natural light may be the answer. New discoveries in chronobiology can help us to sleep better and to awaken more refreshed.

A Disrupted Circadian Rhythm Affects Both the Body and the Brain

Do you feel sleepy even after an adequate amount of sleep? Do you feel fuzzy and dull throughout your day? If you are having trouble functioning and feel like your health is just “off,” your circadian rhythm could be the issue. According to a new study, a disrupted circadian rhythm can have negative effects on both your body and brain, making it difficult to keep up with the fast pace of modern life.

Circadian Rhythm Disorders: An Environmental Hazard?

A Disrupted Circadian Rhythm Affects Both the Body and the Brain 1Circadian rhythm disorders are common, affecting millions of people all over the globe. As life becomes more fast-paced, an increasing number of people are unable to keep a stable sleep-wake cycle.

Many careers now require travel and working at odd hours, which can cause a condition called jet lag. This disorder occurs when a person’s schedule or time zone changes, leaving their environment out of sync with their internal clocks Although most people associate this disorder with fatigue, it also can cause mood disorders, changes in mental function and even make you more susceptible to a variety of serious illnesses including cancer. Although we associate jet lag with traveling, any abrupt changes to your schedule (such as the twice-yearly time changes related to daylight saving time) can cause this disorder.

In addition to jet lag, modern people are at heightened risk of a variety of circadian disorders. In delayed phase sleep disorder, people fall asleep later than their environment demands and must wake up before they have gotten enough sleep. In advanced phase sleep disorder, they suffer just the opposite and are sleepy before their day has ended.

There are also environmental risks to our circadian rhythms. Many areas of the globe suffer from light pollution, which can disrupt our internal clocks. Some people have jobs or social obligations that keep them from sleeping at the ideal times, a condition called shift work disorder.

What are the consequences of these challenges to our circadian rhythms? Obviously, people will feel more tired when they cannot get the right quantity and quality of sleep. However, a growing body of research suggests that the effects on our bodies and brains can be much more serious.

New Research on Disrupted Circadian Rhythm

Several studies have found links between circadian disorders and a variety of illnesses. People who have disruptions to the circadian rhythm are at heightened risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and even certain kinds of cancer.

However, a new study suggests that circadian disorders also can affect your health and well-being on a daily basis. To look at the effects, researchers took two groups of mice. One was put in an environment with a normal 24-hour day. The other group was placed in an artificial environment with ten hours of light and ten hours of darkness alternating. In other words, these mice had disrupted circadian rhythms because they were forced to live on a 20-hour sleep-wake cycle rather than a 24-hour one.

After six weeks, the group with the 20-hour cycle began to show concerning physical changes. They gained weight and become more sluggish than mice with a normal circadian rhythm. They also began to show cognitive changes, performing worse on tests of cognitive function such as mazes. Last, these rodents had changes to their personalities including an increase in impulsive behavior.

Do You Have a Circadian Rhythm Disorder?

A Disrupted Circadian Rhythm Affects Both the Body and the Brain 2Like mice, humans can have negative changes to bodies and brains when we have a dysregulated circadian rhythm. If you are concerned that your sleep-wake cycle is out of sync, look for the following signs:

  • difficulty falling asleep at bedtime
  • waking repeatedly throughout the night
  • waking up in the morning feeling tired even when you got enough sleep
  • feeling sleepy during the day and/or needing naps regularly
  • difficulty concentrating or performing complex mental tasks
  • forgetfulness
  • changes in mood

If you are suffering from these symptoms, you may have a disordered circadian rhythm. If so, it is time to make changes that will help you to function better on a daily basis as well as protecting you from the serious diseases caused by long-time sleep disturbance.

Getting Your Sleep-Wake Cycles Back on Track

Keeping a stable sleep-wake cycle is one of the most important things you can do for your circadian rhythm and your whole-body health. It is important to go to bed at the same time every night and wake at roughly the same time, even on weekends and days off. In addition, you should make sure that your sleeping area is dark and quiet, without artificial lights or sources of stress and stimulation.

These changes can be difficult to make in a world that seems to demand night-time obligations and early morning awakenings. However, protecting your circadian rhythm is essential to feeling and performing your best for a lifetime.

Holiday Hack: Fight Effects of Sleep Deprivation With Healthy Snacks

The winter holidays are a time of togetherness, giving — and lots of food. Although we tell ourselves that these times are about noble emotions and actions, many of us anticipate the cookies, fudge and cheeseballs just as much as we do the next religious service or family gathering. However, there is no season like snow season to reach for healthier snacks. In fact, this one habit can make an incredible difference. Researchers have found that healthy foods fight effects of sleep deprivation and other unwanted side effects of the holidays.

Are You Tired During the Holidays?

Holiday Hack: Fight Effects of Sleep Deprivation With Healthy Snacks 1Although the holidays are undoubtedly a time of great cheer, they also can be a time of sleeplessness and fatigue. Our bodies are put under a huge amount of stress from the changing seasons around us. Natural light levels are at their lowest in the year, leaving many of us feeling sleepy and tired all night and day. In addition, the ubiquitous presence of holiday lights and other cheery displays can increase light pollution, making it difficult to fall asleep.

The nature of social holidays also can make it difficult to keep your circadian rhythm aligned. Many social gatherings require staying out later, which throws off your natural internal clocks. Using alcohol and other substances is quite common during the holidays and can also interfere with your sleep-wake cycle.

Although these all can be challenges to the system, few people are willing to stay in a dark cave during the season of lights. Even if you love the holidays, these factors can begin to take their toll after a while. However, new research has uncovered some heartening news: Eating healthier snacks and treats may help to keep your energy levels high and fight effects of sleep deprivation all season.

Healthy Food, Healthy Energy Levels

If you reach for sugary and salty snacks when you are tired, you are not alone. Researchers have found that people are less able to make healthy choices when they are tired, over-emotional or otherwise not performing at their best. According to a new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, eating vegetables can actually reduce your levels of fatigue.

In addition, the fatty and sugary snacks that we naturally crave when we are tired can have terrible effects on sleep. The same study found that people who ate more of these types of foods scored higher on scales measuring disordered sleep.

This is unfortunate because we are biologically prone to craving the worst possible foods for sleep issues while less attracted to ones that may actually help us. Despite this, choosing vegetables and lean proteins may really pay off in increased levels of well-being and a better night’s sleep.

The Vicious Cycle of Exhaustion and Poor Eating

Unfortunately, the more tired you are, the more you will crave sugary sweets. Our brains are hardwired to reach for sugar, fat and salt when we are feeling tired or otherwise under the weather. This can create a terrible self-perpetuating cycle every holiday season.

Holiday Hack: Fight Effects of Sleep Deprivation With Healthy Snacks 2Fighting these cravings can be difficult enough on its own. However, they seem almost impossible to resist when you consider that there are unhealthy options all around us at this time of year and fewer later on when fruit will be cheaper and more ubiquitous. This can set up a negative cycle in which people feel tired and eat, then feel more tired because they made poor food choices, then eat even more junk food.

Although this vicious cycle can be difficult to avoid and even more difficult to fight, there is hope. If you are looking for a few ways to get the sleep you need and resist the growth of your waistline by eating more healthfully during the holidays, consider the following tips:

  • Drink plenty of water, as this will help you to feel more full.
  • Fill up on a salad or other healthy snack before going to the gathering or party.
  • Bring healthy snacks such as cut-up vegetables to the party. Bonus points if you bring enough to share!
  • Remind yourself of why you are eating healthy.
  • Avoid alcohol and other mind-altering substances as much as possible.
  • Try to get as much sleep as you can, as this will keep you from feeling tired enough to overindulge in the first place.

Although it is normal to gain a pound or two over the holidays, no one should be trapped in a vicious cycle of insomnia and food binges. If you feel like your holiday eating tends to get out of control, it is time to take control of your health and well-being and resolve to go for the healthy snacks this holiday season.

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