Post by Deleted on May 31, 2012 12:45:50 GMT -5
So I know that many of you had already figured out that lighting affects adrenal glands/disease but I recently learned that even in humans, sleeping in total darkness causes our bodies to naturally produce more melatonin to regulate our bodies' hormones which helps prevent certain types of cancers.
Link 1
Link 2 This link also discusses the correlation between natural melatonin levels and fluorescent lighting.
Maybe it should have been obvious, ferrets being ground/tunnelling animals that they need total darkness to sleep for their heath, but I didn't realize that it probably affected their melatonin levels as well!
My next sewing project is to sew a curtain cover for Rolo's cage >.<
So basically, by not providing total darkness for sleeping (even if it's natural light during the day) wild polecats would be sleeping safe, dark, enclosed spaces and would be producing more melatonin. Even if it's natal daylight and a ferret is sleeping in a hammock rather than a sock drawer or nest box, they also are most likely producing less melatonin, which most likely wreaks more havoc on their adrenal glands.
Just thought this was interesting and that I'd share in case anyone didn't already know this
Link 1
Link 2 This link also discusses the correlation between natural melatonin levels and fluorescent lighting.
Maybe it should have been obvious, ferrets being ground/tunnelling animals that they need total darkness to sleep for their heath, but I didn't realize that it probably affected their melatonin levels as well!
My next sewing project is to sew a curtain cover for Rolo's cage >.<
During daylight hours, melatonin production is minimal, and blood levels of this hormone remain low. When night falls, however, and the ambient light level plummets, the absence of light induces biochemical changes that cause melatonin production to increase dramatically, about 2 hours later. That's when we begin to feel sleepy, the signal that it's time to go to bed. Melatonin levels peak during the night and then decline to their previously low levels by morning—time to wake up.
Instead, We Turn on the Lights
In an ideal world, we would go with the flow of nature's circadian rhythms, obeying the melatonin signal by going to bed and getting a good night's sleep (which for most people means 7 to 9 hours, depending on individual needs). Alas, however, our modern world is far from ideal in this regard. When night falls, we turn on the lights, thereby suppressing the melatonin signal and interfering with the circadian rhythms that millions of years of evolution have programmed us for. Instead of getting ready for bed, we keep on working or playing, doing chores, pursuing hobbies, watching TV, etc. For some of us, actually, our day is just beginning, as we prepare to go to our night-shift jobs, where we'll be exposed to bright light all night long.
Our poor biological clocks get thrown out of whack by all this. In a very real sense, we are fooling Mother Nature, and, as everyone knows, that's not nice. It's also unhealthy.
So basically, by not providing total darkness for sleeping (even if it's natural light during the day) wild polecats would be sleeping safe, dark, enclosed spaces and would be producing more melatonin. Even if it's natal daylight and a ferret is sleeping in a hammock rather than a sock drawer or nest box, they also are most likely producing less melatonin, which most likely wreaks more havoc on their adrenal glands.
Just thought this was interesting and that I'd share in case anyone didn't already know this