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Article: End your search for rest with melatonin, the 'goodnight' hormone
- Article from:
- Better Nutrition
- Article date:
- August 1, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Intertec Publishing Aug 1996. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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As the sun sets, the pineal gland, located in the deepest recesses of the brain, begins to secrete the hormone melatonin. Melatonin levels remain high for the following eight to 10 hours. But when sunlight hits the retinas in the eyes, melatonin production is suppressed. The rise and fall of this amazing hormone is one of the main players in the body's so-called circadian rhythm, which regulates our sleep/wake cycle.
Levels of melatonin not only correspond to the cycle of day and night, but amounts of melatonin secreted by an individual correspond with age and change throughout life. The highest melatonin levels are measured during childhood, but start to decline as early as adolescence. ...