Hibernation

[China Doll]

Afternoon All,

Is it possible that humans once used to hibernate?

Cheers
China

[Skreecheeboy]

I still do.

[Gromit]

I'll answer that in March.

[squarebear]

There's quite a load of blab about it here:
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/142 6
But the short answer appears to be no, it would appear that while humans have some of the tools for hibernation, we have not evolved them to be used for long periods of time because we have not been required to.

[China Doll]

Cheers squares.... Just wondered if there was an actual reason as to why all I want to do at the moment is sleep.

And possibly to see if there was a way I could get a doctor to sign me off til April.

[Clanad]

No... the prerequiste physiology is not present nor has it been demonstrated in fossil finds. This is especially relevant to the hibernating phenotype wherein the bodies temperature is severly depressed and, we don't have brown fat. Humans can not live if their body temperature lowers below 75.2-78.8�F. Even this range is usually fatal if continued for very long.
Bears seem to do very well with their massive fat layers with a body temperature within 12 degrees F of their active temperature. However, most small, hibernating animals lower their body temperature by as much as 40 degrees F below active.

This is not to say artificial means of inducing hibernator like stasis cannot be developed.

Many humans I know do sleep a lot, especially when it gets cold and dark... you know... night...

[Gromit]

Dr Gromit writes:

In 1984, the National Institute of Health (NIH) discovered that the body clock is regulated by bright light, and that they could use this light to produce serotonin. A new treatment evolved, called light therapy, using light to regulate hormones that caused depressive mood disorders. Light therapy was first applied to a special type of depression in the winter called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and has since been successfully applied to major depression, bipolar disorders anxiety disorders and eating disorders. In 2002, the medical journal The Lancet, reported that bright light produces serotonin while darkness and overcast days cause serotonin to be depleted.

Vitamin B6: Aids in the manufacture of serotonin. A deficiency of this B vitamin reduces serotonin production and affects mood and cravings.

Vitamin B6 is found in many foods including fish, offal, pork, eggs, yeast extract, brown rice, soya beans, oats, wholegrains, peanuts, walnuts, avocado and bananas.

[Gromit]

The good news is, eat more cheese:

"Researchers found that people who ate 2.8g of whey (the liquid in cheese) daily produced fewer stress hormones.
They also had 48 percent more tryptophan, the substance that tells your body to release more of the feel-good chemical serotonin.
Cheese is an excellent source of protein, calcium, zinc, phosphorus and vitamin B12. It may be high in fat, but it�s still not as bad for you as many other snack foods."