Hormones and Behaviors
Hormones and Behaviors
Cynthia Stanley
BEH/225
July 27, 2014
Phillip Duncan
Hormones and Behaviors
Hormones play an important role in bodily functions of the living human as well as mental functions that allow us to create, write, act, or in general be productive humans. When any of our hormones or the glands that produce them are not in sync or producing properly, we may not be able to think at all, or we may be so emotionally dysfunctional that we become nonproductive. Thus hormones may have a tremendous effect on our human behavior. Our endocrine system is made up of many glands that secrete chemicals directly into our bloodstream or lymph system. These chemical are called hormones, which are carried through the body, having an effect both on internal activities and visible behavior (Coon, Mitterer, 2012). Hormones are like transmitters, activating other cells in the body.
Melatonin is one such hormone that is released by the pineal gland in response to daily variations in light. The Pineal gland is a well developed light sensitive organ once considered useless, an unnecessary leftover of evolution, that we now know regulates body rhythms and sleep cycles. Melatonin levels may have a great deal to do with our sleeping patterns as levels in the bloodstream rise at dusk, peak around midnight, and fall again as morning approaches. Thus according to our brain, it is bedtime when melatonin levels rise and get up time when those levels decrease. This is a natural response accordingly to our environment, thus melatonin is the hormone that regulates our natural sleep patterns according to the sun coming up and the sun going down. This is one element in support of how related not only mind and body may be, but also its relation to our planet or living environment.
Other hormones affecting human behavior is a set called corticoids, which have the job of regulating salt balance in the body. When there is a deficiency of certain corticoids, a
Cynthia Stanley
BEH/225
July 27, 2014
Phillip Duncan
Hormones and Behaviors
Hormones play an important role in bodily functions of the living human as well as mental functions that allow us to create, write, act, or in general be productive humans. When any of our hormones or the glands that produce them are not in sync or producing properly, we may not be able to think at all, or we may be so emotionally dysfunctional that we become nonproductive. Thus hormones may have a tremendous effect on our human behavior. Our endocrine system is made up of many glands that secrete chemicals directly into our bloodstream or lymph system. These chemical are called hormones, which are carried through the body, having an effect both on internal activities and visible behavior (Coon, Mitterer, 2012). Hormones are like transmitters, activating other cells in the body.
Melatonin is one such hormone that is released by the pineal gland in response to daily variations in light. The Pineal gland is a well developed light sensitive organ once considered useless, an unnecessary leftover of evolution, that we now know regulates body rhythms and sleep cycles. Melatonin levels may have a great deal to do with our sleeping patterns as levels in the bloodstream rise at dusk, peak around midnight, and fall again as morning approaches. Thus according to our brain, it is bedtime when melatonin levels rise and get up time when those levels decrease. This is a natural response accordingly to our environment, thus melatonin is the hormone that regulates our natural sleep patterns according to the sun coming up and the sun going down. This is one element in support of how related not only mind and body may be, but also its relation to our planet or living environment.
Other hormones affecting human behavior is a set called corticoids, which have the job of regulating salt balance in the body. When there is a deficiency of certain corticoids, a
References: Coon D., Mitterer J., Introduction to Psychology: 2012, Gateways to Mind and Behavior with Concept Maps and Reviews, Ch. 1, Thirteenth Edition, - © Cengage Learning.