to read more please go to:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...ml?ref=science

There are two pathways to sleep. One is the orexin/hypocretin pathway. The orexin nervous system makes body systems comply with sleep.

The body has 3 states: Eat, Exert and Sleep. Each of these states requires different combinations of organs and systems.

The orexin system is centered in the brain's hypothalamus …..the brain's chemical control center. The hypothalamus receives signals concerning which state to place the body in. Then the hypothalamus sends signals via the orexin system to individual organs to turn them on or off. Each organ has nerve transduction boundaries which throttle organ function. The orexin nerve endings sit in these transduction boundaries. Orexin nerve endings exude specialized chemicals which alternately enhance or defeat transduction signaling, and thereby control organ function.

Transduction nerves and orexin nerves function via potassium channels. These potassium channels can be attacked by ingested proteins like the ones in wheat, by nerve viruses like herpes simplex and Epstein Barr, and by the immune system in response to these antigens. These attacks can come at either end of the orexin system, at organs or at the hypothalamus.

The other sleep pathway is melatonin. Melatonin causes people to get sleepy. Melatonin is secreted by the pineal gland. The pineal gland lies in the low back center of the brain. Melatonin secretion is heavily related to daylight cycles. Daylight cycles and melatonin release are both throttled by ingestion of lutein and zeaxanthin.

Excess blue light is harmful to the eyes. Lutein and zeaxanthin (L and Z) are dyes which line the retina, and block out blue light. L and Z are virtually identical twins. L and Z are polyphenol aldehydes. Lutein tends to have more aldehyde properties, and zeaxanthin tends to have more polyphenol dye properties.

Some people collect and use L and Z properly. Some people over-collect L and Z, and some people under-collect them. Some people are intolerant of L and Z. Some intolerant people make antibodies which attack and remove lutein and zeaxanthin. For example 85% of autistic children have antibodies to L and Z. When the body makes antibodies to antigens like L and Z it usually 1) invokes lots of inflammation, and 2) makes antibodies against the affected tissues.

The effects of lutein and zeaxanthin are vastly under-studied, but it's easy to see how the body's reaction to these chemicals can cause bad sleep disturbances. Lutein comprises about .15 % of yellow corn and egg yolk, the highest lutein concentrations among all foods.

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~duahn...Components.pdf
http://www.macular.org/nutrition/index.html

Yellow corn and egg yolks make me ill, give me terrible headaches, and leave me awake all night.