04/23
Today I helped label test tubes with Brittany, but it still proved to be a really interesting session because Brittany explained all about what the test tubes were going to be used for! Since the light and melatonin experiments are pretty much finished up, they are starting new projects involving the relationships between other hormones and light! Brittany told me all about how these test tubes were going to hold blood samples tested for levels in ghrelin, a hormone which controls and limits you're feelings of hunger. They are going to start a test, over the summer, to see whether interrupting peoples' sleep cycles with light affects their ghrelin levels throughout the day. There are studies which suggest that ghrelin levels decrease if people do not get enough sleep. So people eat more if they don't get enough sleep because their ghrelin levels are not high enough to tell their brain and body that they are satisfied. The lab is also going to compare people who wake up when it's dark out versus when it's light out and how their ghrelin levels are affected that way too! I found these experiment ideas really interesting because I do feel like I don't get enough sleep when I wake up when it's dark out even if I get a good amount of sleep. Without light to stimulate the senses, I feel more groggy! I never really thought about how light could affect hormones other than melatonin, so I will definitely do more research on these ideas!
Today I helped label test tubes with Brittany, but it still proved to be a really interesting session because Brittany explained all about what the test tubes were going to be used for! Since the light and melatonin experiments are pretty much finished up, they are starting new projects involving the relationships between other hormones and light! Brittany told me all about how these test tubes were going to hold blood samples tested for levels in ghrelin, a hormone which controls and limits you're feelings of hunger. They are going to start a test, over the summer, to see whether interrupting peoples' sleep cycles with light affects their ghrelin levels throughout the day. There are studies which suggest that ghrelin levels decrease if people do not get enough sleep. So people eat more if they don't get enough sleep because their ghrelin levels are not high enough to tell their brain and body that they are satisfied. The lab is also going to compare people who wake up when it's dark out versus when it's light out and how their ghrelin levels are affected that way too! I found these experiment ideas really interesting because I do feel like I don't get enough sleep when I wake up when it's dark out even if I get a good amount of sleep. Without light to stimulate the senses, I feel more groggy! I never really thought about how light could affect hormones other than melatonin, so I will definitely do more research on these ideas!
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