Sleep is a necessity that we as humanity cannot live without. Heck, it's more important than food. So important in fact, that sleep deprivation has been proven to drive people mad - literally within just days. We need it to function properly, both mentally and physically, and without adequate sleep our body and our immune system rebel against us, leaving us in complete disarray. New and extraordinary findings on sleep, and how we come by a peaceful and consistent night's sleep is paving the way to a new understanding of how we sleep, and also creating a foundation for new possible sleep aids. What is this new sleep research that is so intriguing it actually made front page news in some popular publications? Well, a gene that is found in everyone's body that was thought to regulate sleep in a very specific way has now been slightly debunked and new research is showing that it doesn't quite work the way scientists originally thought. The gene in question has been dubbed the "CK1 Gene", and no, that's not Calvin Klein's CK1 fragrance, it's a specific gene that was found years ago to affect the body's natural clock, including waking and sleeping times. This whole "body clock" phenomena is called the circadian rhythm, which many believe influences your waking and sleeping times, as well as your emotional state and well being. The circadian rhythm is a universal clock which is said to affect plants, animals and humans, and is composed of roughly twenty four hour cycles. Circadian rhythm depends on where we live, the amount of sunlight we get, the temperature, and darkness, and it is wholly influenced by our environment. For example, someone on the east coast will have a different circadian rhythm than someone on the west coast, because of our environment (temperature, sunlight, darkness) and the more obvious reason of time differences. A mutation of the CK1 gene has been shown to actually speed up the body's natural waking and sleeping biological clock, or circadian rhythm. The new research on the genetic mutation of the CK1 gene will be able to show researchers more about how our circadian rhythm works, and how we might be able to better manipulate them and control and treat disorders such as insomnia and depression, which are said to be greatly influenced by our body clocks and environment. Not only is this research significant for sleep studies, but also for the development of new ways to help control our sleep patterns, and make them more consistent and in line with our lifestyles and schedules. This will result in a more well rested and emotionally adjusted, energetic lifestyle. The research is just at the tip of the iceberg now, but we may be justified in expecting this to result in some pretty exciting studies that will inevitably spawn from this pivotal finding. This new finding very well may result in a huge boon for sleep aids and even depression research and advances in general medicine. Natural medicine too, not just pharmaceuticals! |
