Sleep and the Pineal Gland

One of the main concerns and and challenges that I hear from people is the need for good sleep. Lack of it can have deep effects on our lives, from being chronically tired to serious and detrimental consequences. So what is the pineal gland and what does it have to do with sleep? This gland is a neuroendocrine organ, very vascular, which means that it has lots of blood flow, is part of the endocrine system, and is responsible for supplying the body with the hormone melatonin.

The pineal gland is situated in the center of the brain and is about the size of a soybean. It’s “main function is to receive information about the state of the light-dark cycle from the environment and convey this information to produce and secrete the hormone melatonin (Ref; NIH). This explains how our internal “clock” or circadian rhythm works, as it depends on the rhythmic secretion of melatonin during the dark part of the day to help us fall and stay asleep. The non-image part of the retina also produces melatonin.

The next blog will discuss pineal calcification (hardening of the gland), how that affects the functioning of the pineal gland, how the gland, as well as the brain, is affected by aging, and how sleep is disrupted.