This is a continuation of a previous email about light hygiene and joint health.

In this research paper they describe how they chemically induced arthritic inflammation in the joints of mice, to prove that this inflammation is controlled by the circadian clock.

Normally, the genetic clocks within the cells of the joints in synchronization with the master clock in the brain causes joint inflammation to decrease during "dark time" in humans as it also does in mice.

(Note: Humans sleep at night and mice during the day, but both experience less inflammation at night).

This clock controlled reduction in inflammation during "dark time" has NOTHING to do with physical rest or sleep, it only occurs BECAUSE light is not entering the eyes of the mouse or human.

When the mice in this experiment were confined to 24 hour light exposure, regardless of whether they slept or physically rested, the inflammation chronically remained with no observed dip within the 24 hour cycle, which dip would normally occur.

(Chronic inflammation of joints is what causes joints to eventually malshape and hence deteriorate.)

Thus, by dampening the master clock in the brain which gets its robustness from the day/night information from the eyes, they proved they could further accelerate and aggravate joint disease FROM THE EYES.

These findings are exciting as researchers may now consider inventing drugs that are clock-gene-based treatments for arthritis.

In the meantime, you as an individual can control your master clock in your brain by wearing melatonin onset eyewear prior to sleep-time to provide the virtual darkness that may shorten your 'inflammation-time' by lengthening your 'dark time'..