WEDNESDAY WELLBEING - Sleeping at Appropriate Times: Studies show that people who go to bed closer to midnight have higher cortisol (stress hormone) levels in the morning than those who go to bed around 10 P.M. This holds true even when both groups of people sleep for the same number of hours. Our ancient physiology is programmed to go to bed shortly after the sun sets in the evening. Artificial lighting, T.V, and computer screens circumvent this response by lengthening the time your hormonal-wake software is active. This pushes back your hormonal-sleep software, which produces fat-burning and anti-aging hormones like HGH (Human growth hormone), glucagon, and testosterone. As soon as light comes up again the next morning, that software is shut off, which means that if you sleep 8 hours but go to bed at midnight, only 5 or so hours (in summertime anyway!) is in the dark. In order to ensure that your hormonal systems are working for you, the time you go to bed is just as important as how long you sleep.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 07:00:00 +0000
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