If you want to feel good and perform at a high level, getting quality, deep sleep every night is essential. Sleep deprivation can interfere directly with the body's normal process of rebuilding and repair. During the deepest, more restful stages of sleep, the body restores, regenerates, detoxifies, and rebuilds its tissues.
ABOUT MELATONIN
Melatonin is a natural hormone produced by the brain’s pineal gland. It regulates sleep and maintains the body’s natural biorhythms. During the day, the pineal gland is inactive. When the sun goes down and darkness occurs, the pineal is "turned on" and begins to actively produce melatonin, which is released into the blood. Usually, this occurs around 9 pm. As a result, melatonin levels in the blood rise sharply and you begin to feel less alert. Sleep becomes more inviting and melatonin levels in the blood stay elevated through the night. Daytime levels of melatonin are barely detectable.
Bright light at night will block melatonin production, which is why it's sometimes called the "Dracula of hormones" – it only comes out in the dark. Even if the pineal gland is switched "on" by your biological clock, it will not produce melatonin unless the person is in a dimly lit environment.
BLUE LIGHT AND SLEEP
Going to sleep and waking at the same time each day creates a rhythm for your body. Studies show artificial, bright light can disrupt brain activity and alter sleep hormones like melatonin. This keeps us awake at night. Anybody looking at their laptop or smartphone right before bed is overexposing themselves to blue light at a time they should be powering down their eyes and minds.
We recommend everybody, adults, and kids, take a break and turn their screens off, ideally two hours before bedtime. Everybody is different, but two hours is a good rule of thumb—and minimally one hour. It’s really important, particularly for kids, because their eyes allow a lot more blue light in. Your bedroom should be a quiet, peaceful, blue-light-free haven.
Short-term overexposure to blue light also affects your eyes and is associated with eye fatigue, blurred vision, burning eyes, headaches, and sleep disorders. Read all about Blue light and Your eyes here.
