More Fluoride Exposure Leads to Less Sleep

By GreenMedInfo Research Group

Tired? Exposure to higher levels of fluoride in drinking water has been linked to less sleep, likely due to its adverse effects on the pineal gland — raising questions that it could also interfere with this gland’s role as the “seat of the soul.”

Your pineal gland, a pea-sized neuroendocrine organ located near your brain’s center, has been revered as the primary “seat of the soul” for centuries — and was even described as the place where all human thoughts are formed.^[i]

But due to its location outside of the blood-brain barrier — a necessary phenomenon since it secretes hormones into blood circulation — it has little protection against exposure to toxins such as fluoride, making it prone to mineralization.

Hydroxyapatite, which is found in teeth and bones, is common in calcifications found in the pineal gland, which is also known to accumulate high levels of fluoride. Even low levels of fluoride consumption may lead to high levels of fluoride in the pineal gland, according to research published in Environmental Health, “due to fluoride’s high affinity for hydroxyapatite.”^[ii]

In fact, in older adults, fluoride accumulation in the pineal gland has been measured at amounts similar to those found in teeth. Not only does this increase the risk of fluoride toxicity in the pineal gland, but the study revealed a distinct association between fluoride exposure and sleep — another clue that fluoride could be wreaking havoc on the very locus of the soul.

Fluoride Exposure May Interfere With Sleep

Dozens of studies have highlighted fluoride’s role as a neurotoxin, particularly its link to lower IQ in children,^[iii] but only two studies to date have looked into its connection to sleep.

The first, published in Environmental Health in 2019,^[iv] found that a median increase in water fluoride concentrations was associated with nearly twice the risk of symptoms suggestive of sleep apnea, along with later bedtimes (by 24 minutes) and later morning wake times (by 26 minutes) among adolescents.

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“Fluoride exposure may contribute to changes in sleep cycle regulation and sleep behaviors among older adolescents in the US.,” the researchers concluded.^[v] The second study, published in 2021,^[vi] analyzed the role of fluoride exposure and sleep in adults, using population-based data from the Canadian Health Measures Survey.

A connection was again found. Specifically, a 0.5 milligram (mg) per liter higher water fluoride level was “associated with a 34% higher relative risk of reporting sleeping less than the recommended duration for age.”^[vii] The finding is a signal that fluoride is affecting the pineal gland, which is best known for synthesizing the hormone melatonin.

Is Fluoride ‘Calcifying the Soul’?

The pineal gland plays a crucial role in your body’s circadian rhythm and sleep-wake cycle. Lying deep within the human brain, the pineal gland is stimulated by exposure to light from the retina. When you see daylight, a signal is sent through your optic nerve to the suprachiasmatic nucleus in your brain’s hypothalamus,^[viii] triggering the release of cortisol and other hormones that help you wake up.

At night, as darkness ascends, the SCN signals your pineal gland to release melatonin,^[ix] which helps you fall asleep. Higher fluoride exposure, however, could mean that concerning amounts of fluoride are accumulating in the pineal gland, altering sleep cycles. According to the Environmental Health study:^[x]

“The deposition of fluoride in calcified tissues, such as the pineal gland, bones, and teeth, may represent a defense mechanism against potential fluoride toxicity (in other tissues), which may begin in the prenatal period.

Fluoride deposition in the pineal gland and its calcification would most likely exert effects on sleep via changes to pinealocytes and subsequently melatonin output. The pineal gland is composed primarily of pinealocytes, which synthesize melatonin.”

But sleep is just one variable that’s affected when the pineal gland is altered. There’s a link between fluoride and calcium in the pineal gland, such that older people have been found to have a greater fluoride to calcium ratio in their pineal gland than in their bones.^[xi] The implications — that fluoride could be, quite literally, turning the pineal gland to stone — are alarming when you consider the metaphysical nature of the pineal gland and its ancient ties to the spiritual realm. As noted by New World Encyclopedia:

“[T]he importance and role of the pineal gland is not clearly understood, and this mystery has historically led to various metaphysical theories. Rene Descartes called it the “seat of the soul,” and others have attributed importance to it in terms of “spiritual vision” or “intuition.”

… The pineal gland is occasionally associated with the sixth chakra (also called Ajna or the third eye chakra in yoga). It is believed by some to be a dormant organ that can be awakened to enable “telepathic” communication. Madame Blavatsky (1888) called the pineal body the “eye of Shiva” and said that in modern man it is a vestigial “organ of spiritual vision.” Believers in Discordianism feel that the pineal body is involved in intuition.”

How to Avoid Toxic Fluoride

Fluoride has dozens of adverse effects on human health. Aside from its role in altering sleep and the pineal gland, fluoride is neurotoxic and may harm heart health, fertility and the brain. Conditions linked to fluoride include cognitive dysfunction, low and impaired IQ, cancer, kidney disease, diabetes, endocrine disruption, thyroid disease, heart disease and fluoride toxicity.^[xii]

In the U.S., more than 70% of water supplies are fluoridated, which means you’re exposed every time you drink from the tap.^[xiii] About 39% of Canadians also receive fluoridated water.^[xiv] If you live in an area with fluoridated water, install a filter that removes fluoride, which include:^[xv]

• Reverse osmosis
• Activated alumina
• Deionizers that use ion-exchange resin

Alternatively, spring water also tends to be very low in fluoride. Other common sources of fluoride to watch out for include:^[xvi]

Your body has no inherent need for fluoride — it’s far from an essential nutrient.^[xvii] So the lower your exposure, the better your overall health will likely be.

References

[i] Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Archive Winter 2018, Descartes and the Pineal Gland https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2018/entries/pineal-gland/

[ii] Environ Health. 2021; 20: 16. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC7893939/ [iii] Fluoride Action Network March 27, 2020 https://fluoridealert.org/articles/four-studies/ [iv] Environ Health. 2019; 18: 106. https://fluoridealert.org/articles/four-studies/ [v] Environ Health. 2019; 18: 106. https://fluoridealert.org/articles/four-studies/ [vi] Environ Health. 2021; 20: 16. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC7893939/ [vii] Environ Health. 2021; 20: 16. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC7893939/ [viii] New World Encyclopedia, Pineal Gland https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/pineal_gland [ix] Johns Hopkins Medicine, Slee/Wake Cycles https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/sleepwake-cycles [x] Environ Health. 2021; 20: 16. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC7893939/ [xi] Caries Res. 2001 Mar-Apr;35(2):125-8. PMID: 11275672 /article/fluoride-deposits-pineal-gland-age-and-associated-enhanced-gland-calcification [xii] Fluoride Action Network, health Effects https://fluoridealert.org/issues/health/ [xiii] Fluoride Action Network, FAQs https://fluoridealert.org/faq/ [xiv] Environ Health. 2021; 20: 16. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC7893939/ [xv] Fluoride Action Network, FAQs https://fluoridealert.org/faq/ [xvi] Fluoride Action Network, 10 Ways to Reduce Fluoride Exposure https://fluoridealert.org/content/top_ten/ [xvii] Fluoride Action Network, FAQs https://fluoridealert.org/faq/

The GMI Research Group (GMIRG) is dedicated to investigating the most important health and environmental issues of the day.  Special emphasis will be placed on environmental health.  Our focused and deep research will explore the many ways in which the present condition of the human body directly reflects the true state of the ambient environment.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of GreenMedInfo or its staff.

Source: GreenMedInfo

This article is copyrighted by GreenMedInfo LLC, 2022
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