Grade 7 led the Monday Assembly this week under the guidance of their adviser Sir Richard Santa Cruz. Our students rocked the quiz bowl competition and received some well-deserved awards at the assembly today! 🎉🏅 Keep up the great work, scholars! 📚💡
Here is our Science Monday Trivia:
What causes our sleepiness when we are surrounded by darkness? The answer is the pineal gland.
In response to darkness, the pineal gland begins to produce melatonin. Melatonin is a serotonin-derived hormone that promotes sleepiness. However, exposure to light blocks the production.
The pineal gland is a small endocrine gland the size of a pea located in the mid-line of the brain, outside the blood-brain barrier, and attached to the roof of the third ventricle by a short stalk.
It is also what promotes sleepiness and sets the biological clock also known as the Circadian rhythm. Another fun fact is it secretes melatonin!
When it gets dark out, your pineal gland releases melatonin into your body. This may make you start to feel sleepy. This is because melatonin plays a role in regulating your sleep patterns (circadian rhythms). At night, the influx of melatonin can help you feel tired, which helps you fall asleep.
What is melatonin?
Melatonin is a hormone made in the body. It regulates night and day cycles or sleep-wake cycles. Melatonin in supplements is usually made in a lab.
Darkness triggers the body to make more melatonin, which signals the body to sleep. Light decreases melatonin production and signals the body to be awake. Some people who have trouble sleeping have low levels of melatonin. It’s thought that adding melatonin from supplements might help them sleep.
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