It Controls Your Mood, Sleep, and Energy Level
The famous philosopher Descartes described the pineal gland as the “principal seat of the soul.” You’ve probably heard of this gland being the ‘third eye,’ a mystical chakra point residing right in the middle of your eyebrows. Well, it turns out these ideas aren’t too far off. The small, rice-sized, pinecone-shaped endocrine organ known as the pineal gland sits alone in the middle of the brain and at the same level as the eyes.
Pineal Gland Functions
How you think and feel every day depends on the pineal gland. As the producer of the hormone melatonin, the quality and duration of your sleep relies on how well it produces this hormone. This tiny organ regulates your daily and seasonal circadian rhythms, the sleep-wake patterns that determine your hormone levels, stress levels, and physical performance.
4 Ways to Activate the Pineal Gland
Activating your pineal gland may be helpful for regulating mood, sleep, and energy levels. Here are 4 ways to get started:
1. Get Out and Into the Sun
Sun exposure kick starts the pineal gland to produce serotonin and stimulates the mind. Any type of light exposure, either directly or indirectly, activates the pineal gland, prompting it to produce serotonin. This neurotransmitter is responsible for mood and improves energy levels. This is why it’s crucial to avoid light after the sun goes down, because you need your pineal gland to produce melatonin and suppress serotonin. This process can only be accomplished by reducing light from electronics and lightbulbs as much as possible.
2. Sleep in Complete Darkness
A dark environment ensures your pineal gland produces enough melatonin to ensure good, restful sleep. Make sure you avoid backlit devices like phones, tablets, computer monitors, or TV right before bed. The lighting of these devices stimulates serotonin production, tricking your pineal gland into thinking it’s daytime, confusing your wake/sleep cycle.
3. Sun Gazing
Sun gazing is perhaps one of the most controversial exercises you can do to activate the pineal gland, simply because there’s no scientific evidence to prove its effectiveness or safety. Here’s the basics of the practice: within the first 15 minutes of sunlight at the beginning of the day and then the final 15 minutes of sunlight at the end of the day, you gaze into the sun for a couple of seconds, but only a couple of seconds. Again, sun gazing has its risks. Simply getting out in the sun and having your eyes exposed to light indirectly can help stimulate the pineal gland without having to stare directly into the sun’s rays.
4. Meditation
The pineal gland responds to the bioelectric signals of light and dark, and meditation activates this bioelectric energy. With practice, you can learn to direct this energy to this highly-sensitive organ.
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