Glutathione - The Conundrum - More Energy/Better Sleep

The previous post dealt with the mechanisms that allow glutathione to maximize cell function, especially in the area of the mitochondria. This is the area of the cell where energy is produced.

We left readers with the conundrum as to how glutathione could maximize cellular energy during our waking hours whilst there is evidence that the same glutathione can enhance sleep patterns.

Sleep is a period for brain and nerve cell detoxification and immune system stimulation. Melatonin is a hormone that initiates sleep when it is released by the pineal gland located beneath the brain.

Sleep is controlled by the hypothalamus where specific brain cells in the area called the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN) reside. These cells in the SCN regulate melatonin production in the pineal gland. The SCN is the “pacemaker” of the circadian rhythm that governs melatonin release.

Oxidant damage to cells is one of the major mechanisms of the aging process. Melatonin functions as an anti-oxidant in the membranes of cells by stimulating production of Glutathione. When Glutathione takes up oxidants, it becomes “oxidised glutathione” (GSSG) which further promotes sleep. The GSSG also shuts down production of substances that have excitory effects on brain cells thus allowing brain cells to repair themselves.

To re-iterate, Sleep is a time of neurological regeneration and immune system stimulation. It is critical for our survival and impacts significantly on aging. Sleep is a time that the brain and nervous system uses to detoxify themselves using melatonin to stimulate the anti-oxidant Glutathione.

Thus we see that Glutathione is involved in two distinctly different processes: one, involving the maximizing of cellular energy production during the day; the other, inducing better sleep during the night.