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Showing posts from May, 2021

Blog109: Importance of Sleeping in Darkness

Many children and even some adults see the darkness as something to fear. But when it comes to falling asleep, darkness is one of your most reliable allies. Darkness is essential for the body to fall asleep. In absence of light, the brain sends a signal to the body indicating that it is time to rest. When there is a light source present at the wrong time, the body’s circadian rhythm, a biological mechanism that regulates sleep-wake cycles, can be adversely affected, thereby disrupting both the quantity and quality of sleep.   Our brain produces a hormone called melatonin, which basically sends our body a ‘time to sleep’ signal after which the physiological groundwork for the sleep-cycle to take place. This includes feeling lethargic, muscle relaxation, and a drop in body temperature. When darkness starts to fall after sundown, the levels of melatonin automatically increase and continue to do so throughout most part of the night, peaking around 3:00 am. Howev