Sleep disorders are related to the duration of your sleep, and the timing and quality of sleep. These disorders may cause problems with your concentration and functioning during the day. You can also be highly strung, or drowsy, and tired throughout the day.

Do you know there are over 96 different sleep disorders diagnosed?

One of them is insomnia.

Many people consider their sleeping problem to be insomnia, but insomnia is a common sleep disorder and not just a sleeping problem.

Insomnia, being the second most common sleep disorder, involves problems getting to sleep or staying asleep.

If you have sleep difficulties three nights a week for at least three months, your doctor will probably diagnose you with an insomnia sleep disorder.

CRSD is a family of sleep disorders where the timing of one’s sleep is out of alignment. A person with one of these disorders does not follow a normal sleep-time patterns at night.

There are several categories of circadian rhythm sleep disorders.

1. Advanced Sleep Phase Disorder (ASPD)
2. Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder (DSPD)
3. Irregular Sleep-Wake Rhythm Disorder (ISWRD)
4. Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder (N24SWD)
5. Jetlag
6. Shift Work Sleep Disorder (SWSD)

Melatonin is commonly known as the sleep hormone. It is a natural hormone, predominantly produced by our body’s pineal gland. As melatonin levels rise in the blood we begin to feel less alert, an increase in fatigue and drowsiness.

The pineal gland is a small endocrine gland that was named pineal gland because of its pine cone shape.

The pineal gland produces melatonin, which is a crucial hormone for our body’s internal clock, also known as the circadian rhythm.

The pituitary gland is the main gland in the body and secretes numerous hormones controlling different vital processes in our body.The pituitary gland, through its hormones, controls:

• metabolism
• growth
• sexual development
• reproduction
• blood pressure
• and many other vital body functions

Serotonin is commonly known as the hormone of happiness. Acting as a neurotransmitter, serotonin empowers brain cells and other cells in the nervous system to connect to each other. Serotonin is responsible for our :

• mood
• feeling of well-being
• happiness

How is serotonin related to sleep?

The pineal gland is responsible for the  production of serotonin.  Serotonin is a chemical precursor to melatonin that is directly linked with quality, healthy sleep.

Neurotransmitters behave like the body’s ”mailman“ as they transfer messages from neurones to neighbouring cells. Neurotransmitters are chemical substance released by neurones, discharging chemicals filled with neurotransmitters in the spaces between itself and other cells creating a signal.

Neurotransmitters are important for vital physical and psychological functions such as:

• heart rate
• breathing
• sleeping
• appetite
• mood
• fear
• concentration

The frontal cortex of our brain has a left and right part and together form, what is commonly known as the frontal lobe, located just behind the forehead. It is the last region of the brain that is developed.

This doesn’t mean it is less evolved or less important. The human frontal lobe differentiates humans from other primates and mammals and is responsible for crucial cognitive skills, our personality, and our ability to communicate as well as our:

• emotional expressions
• problem-solving
• memory
• language
• judgment
• sexual behaviour

EEG – ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY is a non-invasive monitoring method that records brain electrical activity with electrodes placed along the scalp. EEG is a test used to detect abnormalities in brain waves or problems in the electrical activity of the brain.

Tryptophan

Tryptophan is an amino acid that is used in the production of proteins in our body. We find tryptophan in a number of our daily foods, such as milk, nuts, poultry, eggs, spinach, and salmon to name a few.  Our body uses and converts tryptophan to niacin, which is vitamin B, and it has an essential role in the chemical process that make serotonin. Serotonin is a chemical precursor to melatonin that is directly linked with quality and healthy sleep.

All of these processes occur in the pineal gland.

A control group is used in research as an essential part of any study.

Definition of a control group is simple. It is a group of subjects that does not get any treatment in the study.  Find out in this short clip why is control group so important.

An experimental group or treatment group is a group of subjects that get the treatment in a study. A study may include more than one experimental group, in which case the groups are called multiple experimental groups.