So Obvious, It's Revolutionary

One of my main recommendations for folks who are having trouble sleeping is a simple one:  Turn out the lights.  I've heard folks say they "can't" fall asleep without surfing the web right before bedtime, or having the TV on in the bedroom.  But late night exposure to light suppresses the body's natural production of melatonin, our main sleep hormone.

Melatonin is produced by a tiny gland at the base of the brain called the pineal gland.  The pineal gland releases melatonin in response to darkness, and this signals the brain to go into sleep mode.

Recent findings have shed more light (so to speak) on the importance of darkness and melatonin.  Melatonin has antioxidant effects in the body that protect against cancer.  Nurses who work the night shift (and therefore get round-the-clock light exposure) produce less melatonin, and are at significantly higher risk for breast cancer (1, 2).

A new study found that even low light levels in the sleeping room at night can produce symptoms of depression (3).  Granted, this study was done using hamsters, but the biological effects were clear:  depressive symptoms after four weeks of dim light at night.

Depression?  Insomnia?  Cancer risk?  Turn out the lights:  shut off all screens (TV, computer, iPad, smartphone, etc.) 30-60 minutes before bedtime.  Get rid of the night lights and television in the bedroom.  You might even want to move that bright LED alarm clock away from your head.  Allow a few weeks for your body to readjust to what is becoming a scarce, but highly valuable, commodity:  darkness.

1. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2012 Apr;21(4):609-18. Epub 2012 Feb 7.
2. Cancer Causes Control. 2006 May;17(4):539-45.
3. T A Bedrosian, Z M Weil and R J Nelson.  Chronic dim light at night provokes reversible depression-like phenotype: possible role for TNF.   Molecular Psychiatry , (24 July 2012).

If You Value Freedom, Then Read On

This Independence Day, my family watched the movie 1776, a dramatic reminder of the birth of our nation, and the risks the founding fathers were taking to stand for freedom from tyranny.  The Declaration of Independence was not just a piece of paper -- it was a set of principles that was carefully crafted and debated, with at least one founding father resigning from Congress rather than participate in what he viewed as treason.

We carry the legacy of liberty two hundred thirty-six years later, and indeed, it is what makes our country great.  Not perfect, but still an order of magnitude above so many oppressive regimes in the world.  With this tradition of freedom so firmly etched into our national identity, it's sometimes challenging to get the message that certain boundaries do make us healthier and happier.

We live in the land of endless choices:  two hundred channels on cable, but nothing worthwhile to watch.  Fifty varieties of pasta sauce on the grocery store shelf.  Clothing in any color or style imaginable.  Is this what our founding fathers fought for?

The most famous phrase in the Declaration of Independence is "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."  Did you know that when it comes to choices, more is not always better?  Dr. Barry Schwartz has done rigorous research in this area, and found that more options increase happiness -- up to a point.  Beyond that, we become increasingly anxious, or even paralyzed, by the number of choices we're faced with.




With so many choices, we are led to believe (especially by the marketing industry) that there is some option out there that is perfect for us.  Paradoxically, though, we often end up regretting what we chose, because we imagine that one of the other options out there might be better still.

In the area of health care, pharmaceutical companies advertise prescription drugs directly to consumers.  Why market something to the general public that needs to be prescribed by a physician?  So that we go to our medical doctor and demand that drug, rather than relying on the expertise of the doctor to prescribe what is best for our health.

We suffer from too many options -- fast food, processed food, endless sources of electronic entertainment to deprive us of exercise and sleep.  In this sense, naturopathic medicine is counter-cultural:  a major principle we have is vis medicatrix naturae, or the healing power of nature.  In other words, get back to the basics -- simple, nourishing food, restful sleep, regular physical activity, and conscious methods of stress management.  Discover how to fit these into your life, and be on constant guard for the seduction of excessive choice under the guise of "liberty," that in reality detracts from our life and pursuit of happiness.