Our sleep pattern
during the day – are influenced to a great extent by our exposure to light and darkness. A key factor in these patterns may be a natural hormone called melatonin.
Melatonin is a naturally occurring bodily hormone, whose levels rise at night and fall during the day. It is produced by our pineal gland, responsible for your body’s patterns and rhythms, During the day, the pineal is inactive, however, as the sun goes down, darkness activates the pineal, and melatonin production begins. When melatonin levels in our blood rise, we become sleepy and the next morning, with daylight, melatonin decreases and we are alert again.
Melatonin levels rise for about 12 hours, from around 9:00 p.m until approximately 9:00 a.m. Although the time of the night and day affects melatonin levels, light and darkness can be even more important factors. In addition to sunlight, artificial indoor lighting can be bright enough to prevent its release. This may be a special problem for shift workers, particularly those who work late night/early morning rotations. First, natural body rhythms encourage night time sleepiness, but bright indoor lighting can help them stay awake. At the conclusion of their shifts, they go into the daylight, which further inhibits the release of the melatonin needed to help them sleep when they get home.
One of the major functions of melatonin supplements is to readjust the body’s biological clock thereby treating insomnia, jet lag and other sleep disorders.
In addition to its hypnotic properties (inducing or maintaining sleep), melatonin may also act as a chronobiotic (or circadian) drug, since if taken at appropriate times, it has been found to advance or delay the sleep-wake cycle. Depending on when it is taken, melatonin can re-set the circadian clock that affects alertness and sleepiness, a characteristic that can be helpful for travelers suffering from jet lag.
People who decide to take melatonin should stick with the recommended dosage because like all hormonal supplements, it also has potential side effects but there are natural products on the market that contain melatonin in safe, recommended dosages along with other therapeutic nutrients that can enhance its effectiveness.
The appropriate dose can vary enormously from person to person. For example with tablets (or capsules) of 1 mg and 3 mg the initial dose should be a 1mg tablet (or capsule) each night before bed-time, increasing it gradually if needed.
People who take melatonin should normally wake up refreshed and full of energy. Waking up feeling a little tired you should reduce your dosage until you wake up feeling well refreshed.
Melatonin should only be taken at nighttime, usually about thirty minutes prior to going to bed. If you are traveling on a long trip you may want to take a dosage prior to getting on your flight and a higher dosage pill prior to going to bed.
Melatonin is one of the least toxic substances known. The only consistent side effect of high doses has been drowsiness and a slower reaction time. However pregnant or nursing women should avoid it (since whether excessive exposure to the hormone might affect a fetus or infant is unknown) as well as people with severe allergies or autoimmune diseases (melatonin could exacerbate such conditions by stimulating the immune system) and healthy children (who already produce it in abundance).
Women trying to conceive should also think twice about taking the hormone, since high doses can act as a contraceptive.
As with any substance introduced into your body, if you have a medical condition you should always consult your physician first before taking melatonin.
Melatonin is claimed to have also anti-aging properties.
Some tests on mice have shown that melatonin caused a significant 20% increase in their lifespan.
If melatonin does allow you to live longer and healthier it could do so because melatonin may reduce free radical damage; stimulate an aging immune system; protect the cardiovascular system; preserve a youthful circadian rhythm; stimulate the production of growth hormone.
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