[stylist] off-topic, circadian cycles

[Peter Donahue]

Hello Chris and everyone,

I liken this rubbish to that of the scientists who believed that because the 
blind could not see light our sexual patterns were irregular despite over 
whelming evidence to the contrary. Their "Findings" were quoted in 
"Blindness: Is the Public Against Us" the 1975 banquet address delivered by 
Dr. Jernigan.

    There was once a researcher who came to a past national convention 
seeking blind persons to participate in a study she was doing to prove that 
sexual functioning in the blind was effected by the inability to see light. 
She was not received very well and left that convention packing.

    I'm really furious about this so-called "Research" as I'm a Sleep Apnea 
sufferer and probably had it since I was a child. As far as I know these 
researchers never performed baseline sleep studies on their blind subjects 
in order to rule out disorders such as sleep apnea for example before 
arriving at their voluminous conclusions that irregular sleep cycles in the 
blind are due to poor or no melatonin production. Due to this fact this 
research is flawed and blind people suffer on account of it.

Peter Donahue


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chris Kuell" <ckuell at comcast.net>
To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2011 5:19 AM
Subject: [stylist] off-topic, circadian cycles


Hi Barbara,

The compound melatonin controls the human circadian sleep cycle. It is
produced in the pinneal gland in the brain, and it's production is triggered
through the reception of light in the eyes during the normal course of
day/night. Many totally blind people have irregular or no melatonin
production, depending on their eye condition and whether or not the rods and
cones in the retina are picking up any light, and hence suffer insomnia or
irregular sleep patterns. A lack of melatonin is also associated with mild
depression.

A few years after I lost my sight a friend, who happens to be a
psychiatrist, told me about this phenomena. I've been taking a melatonin
supplement ever since and my sleep patterns, while not perfect, are much
better than they were.

chris



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