by drcatherinedarley | Jul 20, 2010 | behavioral treatment, circadian rhythm, Light therapy, melatonin, performance, sleep
What is a zeitgeiber??? The word ‘zeitgeiber’ comes from the German language, and means ‘time giver.’ Zeitgeibers are clues in the external world that help keep our internal body clock in sync with the 24 hour day/night rhythm. This word is...
by drcatherinedarley | Mar 26, 2010 | circadian rhythm, Light therapy, melatonin
Insomnia is an inability to fall asleep easily or stay asleep throughout the night. Delayed Sleep Phase is when a person is on a later schedule than the norm. The tricky thing is that Delayed Sleep Phase can masquerade as insomnia, because it can also cause difficulty...
by drcatherinedarley | Nov 26, 2009 | insomnia, melatonin, neurotransmitters of sleep, serotonin, sleep, thanksgiving, turkey, winter holidays
Many stories abound about how the tryptophan in turkey or a glass of milk before bed will help you sleep. Is this true or not? Let’s look at the information. Tryptophan is an amino acid found in foods. Many amino acids combine to make a protein. These...
by drcatherinedarley | Nov 11, 2009 | body clock, circadian rhythm, melatonin, neurotransmitters of sleep
You have probably heard of melatonin, one of our bodies’ endogenous hormones. Today we’ll talk about natural melatonin cycles, how melatonin relates to health, and also how melatonin is taken as a supplement. Your Natural Melatonin Cycle Melatonin is a hormone...
by drcatherinedarley | Oct 12, 2009 | cancer, melatonin, shiftwork, sleep deprivation
In honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, let’s look at the connection between sleep and cancer. This is a complex issue, as getting poor sleep increases the risk of cancer, and sleep in cancer patients is disturbed. Let’s look at each situation...
