MANILA, Philippines — Don’t let your fear of the unknown or "mumu" keep you from getting a good night’s sleep with your lights on.
To maximize the effect of the natural hormone melatonin in the body, it is best to sleep in complete darkness, where not even the faint light of the aircon temperature reading is seen.
Osteopath Dr. JP Prado briefly talked about how complete darkness helps achieve an ideal and beneficial sleep at the recent World Sleep Day, which also launched the newest ergonomic pillows by Mr. Big held in Makati City.
From the Greek words “melas” meaning black; and “tonos” meaning tone or influence, melatonin is a natural hormone that is produced by the body’s pineal gland. It is a hormone that helps in the sleep-wake cycle and circadian rhythm or body clock.
Also referred as the "hormone of darkness," several medical literature noted how melatonin production is affected by the presence of light.
“In response to darkness, the pineal gland in the brain initiates production of melatonin, but light exposure slows or halts that production,” an article post on the website of the Sleep Foundation reads.
“Even if your eyes are closed and you have the best blackout face mask, your skin can still tell and it will not secrete the melatonin,” Dr. Prado said.
If light cannot be avoided, Dr. Prado said it should be warmer and indirect, nothing more than 2,000 Kelvin, or which Lumens said is like a dim glow of light that is similar to candlelight.