In spring a young squirrel’s fancy turns because the days are getting longer, and exposure to longer light periods sets off a chain reaction involving the brain and pituitary gland, resulting in release of hormones that affect sex hormone levels and in turn cause the sex glands to enlarge and produce their sex hormones. —Joseph […]
If you feel you cannot get to sleep without a sleeping pill (assuming you cannot find tryptophan), you might want to try taking 4 the normal nightly sleeping pill dose in conjunction with swallowing one to three 1-milligram tablets of Hydergine®, for which you would need a prescription from your doctor. The total effect has […]
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter which has important inhibitory functions in the brain, to prevent excess nervous stimulation at night so that sleep can occur. It is also a growth hormone releaser. Old people do not make as much serotonin as younger people. This is an important part of aging problems in sleep patterns. What can […]
Science consists in grouping facts so that general laws or conclusions may be drawn from them. —Charles Darwin Sleep is a complex state controlled by a number of different brain chemicals. In aged individuals, these brain chemicals may not be made in as great a quantity as in youth. Brain cells may become less sensitive […]
A deficiency of acetylcholine, another neurotransmitter, can also lead to depression. Deaner®, a prescription drug, increases acetylcholine levels in the brain. It is both an active analogue and a precursor of acetylcholine and is effective in many old people as an antidepressive—it reduces apathy and increases motivation, as well as improving memory and learning in […]
We have had experience with several antidepressive nutrients and drugs. Phenylalanine, an amino acid found in relatively large amounts in meat, milk, cheese, and some other high protein foods, is a very effective and quick remedy for a wide variety of depressions, including the depressive phase of manic-depressive illness and endogenous, schizophrenic, and post-amphetamine depression. […]
Death from helplessness has been widely observed in animals and people. In one study, wild rats forced to swim until exhaustion lasted for 60 hours before they drowned. Rats that were first held firmly in the investigator’ hand until they stopped struggling, and were then put in the water, swam frantically for about 30 minutes, […]
The drive to resist compulsion is more important to wild animals than sex, food, or water. He [J. L. Kavanau] found that captive white-footed mice spent inordinate time and energy just resisting experimental manipulation. If the experimenters turned the lights up, the mouse spent his time setting them down. If the experimenters turned the lights […]
Psychopharmacology, the science of drugs which affect psychological functions, offers other interesting materials. The amino acid tryptophan is a safe, nonaddictive sleeping aid which works because it is made into serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is the neurotransmitter which initiates sleep. Tryptophan is found in milk and bananas and can often be purchased in pill […]
The body has natural processes by which it removes lipofuscin from cells, involving detergent-like compounds. However, the rate of removal falls farther and farther behind the rate of accumulation. (Even a 3-month-old fetus may have some lipofuscin in some of its nerve cells!) The cholinergic drugs Deaner® and centrophenoxine have been experimentally shown in animals […]