Trying to close the eyes but still can not fall asleep too. Once asleep for a while, then there's something to make us awake and finally fight again just to get to sleep. That which may be common to many people in urban areas. After at least 8 hours of working for money, it turns out at night still have to fight to be able to sleep so the next day can move smoothly.
Something that takes a lot of urban people may be the secret to a good night's sleep and quality. More recently, Taruna Ikrar, an Indonesian neuroscientist who is now teaching and researching at the University of California, Irvine, found it.
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| Illustration of Deep sleep. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/1yOwQTU) |
Recently in the Journal of a publication, Taruna outlines that sleep quality is influenced by hormonal balance, especially the levels of melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH).
Taruna and his team conducted experiments with mice that have been genetically engineered. Engineering to kept mice have specific protein labeling, ZsGreen1 Fluorescent Protein, on the end of receiving excitatory nerve cells containing H3R (Histamine Receptor No.3).
ZsGreen1 are the green specific proteins that can record the work of nerve cells that play a role in the activity of histamine-related compounds. H3R itself is the end of the nerve cells that in charge of receiving the sleep stimulus.
After genetically engineered, then the mice induced by MCH hormone. Then mice observed by Photostimulation laser. Nerve cell activity monitored directly with the help of electrodes that have been installed on the brain.
"The mice were induced with MCH and given H3R histamine types showed lower activity, easier to fall asleep, and showed less active conditions when compared with mice that were not induced," said Taruna outlines the results.
Based on the research results, Taruna said, the secret to a good night's sleep is to maintain a balance of hormonal activity of the body, especially the MCH, and maintain levels of histamine compounds.
"This balance will be the key to improving the quality of sleep, and also become a very important factor for the quality of life and health of a person," he explained to Kompas.com, on Saturday, November 15, 2014.
One of the keys to maintaining hormonal balance is keeping the good food, weight, and regular exercise activity. Also the water consumption greatly affect the balance of MCH.
Another benefit of this invention is the new way to help people suffering from sleep disorders. "Healthy People who experience sleep disorders can be treated with special drugs that affect histamine receptors in the brain, particularly the histamine receptor number 3 (H3R) so that sleep disorders in people can be improved, so too can prevent the negative effects of lack of sleep," Taruna said. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | KOMPAS.COM]
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