Thursday, July 27, 2006

Can Light Affect Fertility?

This article talks about a rather unusual bit of research that focuses on the hormone melatonin, which sends messages to our bodies about time of day. Apparently, this has significance for fertility, as people are more fertile when the melatonin flows longer, ie. more darkness.  We can alter the flow of melatonin by wearing special glasses to block certain types of light....

Melatonin is a master control hormone that sends information to the whole body about the time of the day and also the time of year. In dim light or in darkness the melatonin flows for about nine hours during the night reaching a maximum concentration in the blood about 3 A.M. Exposing the eyes to light prevents the flow.

Special Eyeglasses Help Increase Fertility (press release)




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Less Babies?

I came across this very thought-provoking article about fertilty rates around the world.

Have a look....

All across Europe, birthrates (the number of births per 1,000 of population) and fertility rates (the number of births per woman of child-bearing age) have been in a long, steep decline.

KRT Wire | 07/26/2006 | Europe battles its baby bust




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