Are there any biological benefits to waking up early?

I know some people say they get more stuff done when they wake up early, but that's just a personal benefit.

Does it make you healthier?

I don't think so. It is probably more practical depending on circumstances.

Check out the pineal gland and the hormone melatonin

[www.youtube.com]

Function

The pineal gland was originally believed to be a "vestigial remnant" of a larger organ. In 1917 it was known that extract of cow pineals lightened frog skin. Dermatology professor Aaron B. Lerner and colleagues at Yale University, hoping that a substance from the pineal might be useful in treating skin diseases, isolated and named the hormone melatonin in 1958.[15] The substance did not prove to be helpful as intended, but its discovery helped solve several mysteries such as why removing the rat's pineal accelerated ovary growth, why keeping rats in constant light decreased the weight of their pineals, and why pinealectomy and constant light affect ovary growth to an equal extent; this knowledge gave a boost to the then new field of chronobiology.[16]

Melatonin is N-acetyl-5-methoxy-tryptamine, a derivative of the amino acid tryptophan, which also has other functions in the central nervous system. The production of melatonin by the pineal gland is stimulated by darkness and inhibited by light.[17] Photosensitive cells in the retina detect light and directly signal the SCN, entraining its rhythm to the 24-hour cycle in nature. Fibers project from the SCN to the paraventricular nuclei (PVN), which relay the circadian signals to the spinal cord and out via the sympathetic system to superior cervical ganglia (SCG), and from there into the pineal gland.

The compound pinoline is also produced in the pineal gland; it is one of the beta-carbolines.[citation needed]

The human pineal gland grows in size until about 1–2 years of age, remaining stable thereafter,[18][19] although its weight increases gradually from puberty onwards.[20][21] The abundant melatonin levels in children are believed to inhibit sexual development, and pineal tumors have been linked with precocious puberty. When puberty arrives, melatonin production is reduced.

Calcification of the pineal gland is typical in adults, and has been observed in children as young as 2. Calcification rates vary widely by country and tend to increase by age, with calcification occurring in an estimated 40% of Americans by their 17th year.[4]

Apparently the internal secretions of the pineal gland inhibit the development of the reproductive glands, because in cases where it is severely damaged in children, the result is accelerated development of the sexual organs and the skeleton.[22] In animals, the pineal gland appears to play a major role in sexual development, hibernation, metabolism, and seasonal breeding.[23]

Pineal cytostructure seems to have evolutionary similarities to the retinal cells of chordates.[10] Modern birds and reptiles have been found to express the phototransducing pigment melanopsin in the pineal gland. Avian pineal glands are believed to act like the SCN in mammals.[24]

Studies on rodents suggest that the pineal gland may influence the actions of recreational drugs, such as cocaine,[25] and antidepressants, such as fluoxetine (Prozac),[26] and its hormone melatonin can protect against neurodegeneration.[27]

Many animals use the variation in duration of melatonin production each day as a seasonal clock.[15] In animals including humans[16] the profile of melatonin synthesis and secretion is affected by the variable duration of night in summer as compared to winter. The change in duration of secretion thus serves as a biological signal for the organisation of daylength-dependent (photoperiodic) seasonal functions such as reproduction, behaviour, coat growth and camouflage colouring in seasonal animals.[16]

Getting to be early before 11pm if you can is good because you miss pushing your adrenal glands into second wave and staying up past 12 etc.

But fighting your body to get up earlier or go to sleep forcing your own natural rhythm isn't healthy in my opinion.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/2012 11:59AM by powerlifer.

yeah, to me getting up by 9 am is not "early." Getting up early is like 4am or earlier

I wake up early as well, and proper early - between 5 and 6am. Most of the evenings I go to bed early too, before 11. Psychological benefits are really there, in terms of realisation of the amount of things done and it is still the beginning of the day. And if your mind is happy and content, you're gonna be physically healthier as well! Or so I believe

>Banana ice-cream rocks!<

THeSt0rm Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I just know that no matter if I sleep the right
> amount of hours.. if I sleep at a different time
> than that I do feel more tired...


Isn't it called jetlag?

>Banana ice-cream rocks!<