10 (ten) is the even natural number following 9 and preceding 11. Ten is the base of the decimal numeral system, the most common system of denoting numbers in both spoken and written language.
75 may refer to:
- 75 (number)
- one of the years 75 BC, AD 75, 1975, 2075
- 75 (album), an album by Joe Zawinul
- 75 Eurydike, a main-belt asteroid
Melatonin, an indoleamine, is a natural compound produced by various organisms, including bacteria and eukaryotes. Its discovery in 1958 by Aaron B. Lerner and colleagues stemmed from the isolation of a substance from the pineal gland of cows that could induce skin lightening in common frogs. This compound was later identified as a hormone secreted in the brain during the night, playing a crucial role in regulating the sleep-wake cycle, also known as the circadian rhythm, in vertebrates.
In vertebrates, melatonin's functions extend to synchronizing sleep-wake cycles, encompassing sleep-wake timing and blood pressure regulation, as well as controlling seasonal rhythmicity (circannual cycle), which includes reproduction, fattening, molting, and hibernation. Its effects are mediated through the activation of melatonin receptors and its role as an antioxidant. In plants and bacteria, melatonin primarily serves as a defense mechanism against oxidative stress, indicating its evolutionary significance. The mitochondria, key organelles within cells, are the main producers of antioxidant melatonin, underscoring the molecule's "ancient origins" and its fundamental role in protecting the earliest cells from reactive oxygen species.
In addition to its endogenous functions as a hormone and antioxidant, melatonin is also administered exogenously as a dietary supplement and medication. It is utilized in the treatment of sleep disorders, including insomnia and various circadian rhythm sleep disorders.
Sleep is a state of reduced mental and physical activity in which consciousness is altered and certain sensory activity is inhibited. During sleep, there is a marked decrease in muscle activity and interactions with the surrounding environment. While sleep differs from wakefulness in terms of the ability to react to stimuli, it still involves active brain patterns, making it more reactive than a coma or disorders of consciousness.
Sleep occurs in repeating periods, during which the body alternates between two distinct modes: REM and non-REM sleep. Although REM stands for "rapid eye movement", this mode of sleep has many other aspects, including virtual paralysis of the body. Dreams are a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep.
During sleep, most of the body's systems are in an anabolic state, helping to restore the immune, nervous, skeletal, and muscular systems; these are vital processes that maintain mood, memory, and cognitive function, and play a large role in the function of the endocrine and immune systems. The internal circadian clock promotes sleep daily at night, when it is dark. The diverse purposes and mechanisms of sleep are the subject of substantial ongoing research. Sleep is a highly conserved behavior across animal evolution, likely going back hundreds of millions of years, and originating as a means for the brain to cleanse itself of waste products. In a major breakthrough, researchers have found that this cleansing may be a core purpose of sleep.
Humans may suffer from various sleep disorders, including dyssomnias, such as insomnia, hypersomnia, narcolepsy, and sleep apnea; parasomnias, such as sleepwalking and rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder; bruxism; and circadian rhythm sleep disorders. The use of artificial light has substantially altered humanity's sleep patterns. Common sources of artificial light include outdoor lighting and the screens of electronic devices such as smartphones and televisions, which emit large amounts of blue light, a form of light typically associated with daytime. This disrupts the release of the hormone melatonin needed to regulate the sleep cycle.
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