The teachings of the incredible little hormone called Melatonin
Melatonin is a hormone that is produced by the pineal gland in the centre of the brain! It is famous for helping us fall asleep and maintaining our circadian rhythms. It’s that happy drug that makes you feel relaxed and peaceful just before you are about to fall asleep!
The exciting thing about Melatonin is its antioxidant properties, allowing it to attach and neutralize free radicals in our system. Although there are many different antioxidants that can neutralize free radicals, the uniqueness of Melatonin is its ability to go anywhere through-out the body including passing through the blood brain barrier. This is endlessly helping us fight diseases such as Cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson and Heart Disease.
So all good news right? However let’s look at Carol’s story as an anecdotal example of a typical day for most of us.
Due to an exhausting day of keeping up with the pressures of a world that is heating up and racing faster and faster, Carol would find herself waking up at 7.15am, and hitting the ground running while bellowing “WAKE UP, we are already running late” . While literally pulling the kids out of bed, she is making lunches half asleep, and turning on the kettle in desperation for that first shot of caffeine to keep up with the pace. There is a faint and quickly passing voice in her head of the “8 Principles of Health” and the importance of water with a squeeze of lemon juice upon rising, but there is no time for that kind of consideration and planning. It’s all hands on deck and if she can just get the kids to school on time then that’s going to be the greatest PRINCIPLE of all!
Kids hardly even hear the urgency in her voice, having heard it all before, they don’t see the importance of buying into the drama. Taking their time, they stagger to the table, look at their breakfast and consider whether to take a bite, more interested in telling her about their day and what exciting things are coming up. Carol is looking at them in astonishment. ‘Didn’t they hear the panic in my voice,’ she is thinking to herself, ‘cant they read the time?’.
Carol tries a different tact, saying it in a calmer voice, “That’s lovely darling, could I just bring your awareness to the fact that we have 10 minutes to be dressed and out the door. Do you think you could eat a little quicker? “ … .. No real change…
So she is left with no choice, and with the coffee starting to kick in, she yells… “IF YOU DON’T HURRY UP AND GET DRESSED IN THE NEXT FIVE MINUTES THERE WILL BE NO POCKET MONEY FOR THE NEXT MONTH “…. Well that worked!!!
But what’s the cost? Her adrenals are sky high, her blood pressure elevated, she is dehydrated, anxious and resentful towards everyone around me, as they have made her feel this way. She is defeated before her day has started! Once she has dropped the kids off and everything has calmed down, the guilt starts to set in. She thinks to herself, ‘All I do is yell at the kids. What was that story Jonny was telling me? Was it important? And what about their breakfast, I can’t even remember what they ate. I hope there was some kind of nutritional value in it…’ and so the chatter goes on!
Does this sound like a familiar story?
The answer to this stressful equation is through “The Teachings of the Melatonin”. Melatonin needs 5 to 6 hours to do its job and then you are free to function again. So that means, if you choose to go to sleep during its optimum production hours of 9.30pm to 3.00am, your body has well and truly got what it has required and by 5.30 am you are all ready to go again! This gives you the opportunity to totally change what your life looks like and activate those “8 Principles of Health”…
- Exercise
- Stretch
- Meditate
- Water
- Rest
- Good nutrition
- Exercise restrain
- Have a belief (even if it is in yourself)
So lets look at the picture using the Teaching of the Melatonin.
What if you were to go to bed at 9.00pm, you read a trashy magazine that poses no great importance and by 9.30 lights are out and you start to fall sleep. As you shut down, your pineal gland wakes up and the Melatonin stars to kick in as your body regenerates itself.
Equipped with the knowledge that Melatonin is primarily produced by the Pineal Gland between the hours of 9.30pm – 3.00am, you are well at truly cooked by 5.30am.
Now with time on your side, this is your chance to exercise the 8 Principles of Health. You slip out of bed into your sports gear, excited by the fact that you have one hour to yourself before anyone else stirs in this house. You head out for a 45 minute walk, run or weights session.
At 6.15am till 6.30am you move into your stretching phase while focusing on your breathing and taking 5 minutes to meditate.
It’s now 6.30 and you still have 30 minutes to spare. You get yourself dressed, make nutritional lunches for yourself and the kids and may even consider a cooked breakfast for everyone. So by the time 7 am comes around you have exercised, stretched, meditated, made the lunches, got dressed and put on a load of washing!
Now it’s 7.00 o’clock, and it’s time to gently wake up the kids. Feeling back in control and proud of yourself you are ready to totally focused on ensuring the rest of the family have had a good breakfast, they are listened to, and ready for school. Who needs adrenals anyway! How good do you feel?
Good luck! It takes 28 days to create a habit! Let me know how you go!
