Importance of Good Sleep for Health

This year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to three U.S. biologists for their discovery of master genes that control your body’s circadian rhythms

A protein encoded by the “period gene” in your brain’s master clock increases at night and degrades during the day. A second gene, the “timeless gene,” encodes another protein that works with the first to regulate the period gene, thereby creating an oscillating 24-hour rhythm

While the master clock in your brain synchronizes your bodily functions to the 24-hour light and dark cycle, each organ has its own biological clock. Over time, lack of sleep can contribute to a whole host of chronic health problems

Reducing your sleep by a single hour per night increases the expression of genes associated with inflammation, immune excitability, diabetes, cancer risk and stress

The blue light emitted by electronic screens inhibits melatonin production, making it difficult to fall asleep. Electromagnetic fields from these kinds of technologies also have significant effects.

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