[Blindtlk] chalking everything up to blindness

[Lloyd Rasmussen]

But I have also read of studies that indicate that the eyes are not the only
photosensitive parts of the body, for purposes of entrainment of the
circadian rhythm.  

I don't have as much light perception as I once had.  And last summer,
before my congestive heart failure was diagnosed, I was getting less and
less sleep because I couldn't breathe well while lying flat.  Now that I
have a pacemaker and my heart function is returning to normal, I still get
less than five hours of sleep on most nights.  I think that being physically
active during much of your waking hours can help.  Perhaps time-release
melatonin would help also, but I would look into these other factors rather
than be over-medicated.  

Lloyd Rasmussen, Kensington, Maryland
Home:  http://lras.home.sprynet.com
Work:  http://www.loc.gov/nls
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Robert J Smith
> Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 10:31 AM
> To: blindtlk at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [Blindtlk] chalking everything up to blindness
> 
> Hi all.  I definitely agree that there is a tendency for health
> professionals to chalk problems up to blindness, but I believe in the case
> of sleep irregularities, there is solid evidence that shows that the brain
> actually needs to see light to keep its day and night cycles regulated. As
> I understand it, when the brain sees light, the production of melatonin
> which causes a person to sleep is held in check.  When a person is in the
> dark, then melatonin is produced, causing sleep.  If a person does not see
> light at all, to the brain, the person is then in a perpetual night
> surrounding so melatonin could be produced at inappropriate times causing
> drowsiness during those times.  Possibly the taking of Melatonin
> externally, regulates this a little more.
> 
> Bob Smith
>