Melatonin
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Melatonin is a hormone that your body naturally produces.
It is created by the pineal gland in your brain, but it is also found in your eyes, bone marrow, and stomach.
It’s also known as the sleep hormone since high amounts can help you fall asleep.
Melatonin, on the other hand, will not put you to sleep. It merely informs your body that it is bedtime, allowing you to relax and fall asleep more quickly.
Melatonin pills are popular among those suffering from insomnia and jet lag. Melatonin supplements are available without a prescription in several countries.
This hormone has high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties in addition to its sleep advantages.
Melatonin sleep aids are becoming more popular, with 3 million Americans using them in 2012, according to a nationwide survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If you are one of them or are considering using melatonin for sleep, it is important to understand how it works.
What is the mechanism of action of melatonin?
Melatonin acts in unison with the circadian cycle of your body.
The circadian rhythm is your body’s internal clock in basic terms. It tells you when it’s time to: sleep, wake up, and eat.
Melatonin also aids in the regulation of your body temperature, blood pressure, blood glucose levels, body weight, and several hormone levels.
When it’s dark outside, your melatonin levels begin to rise, signalling to your body that it’s time to sleep. They then decrease in the morning, when there is light outside, to encourage awake.
Melatonin can also help you relax by binding to receptors in your body.
It binds to receptors in your brain, for example, to diminish nerve activity. It can also lower dopamine levels, a hormone that helps you stay awake and is implicated in several components of your eyes’ day-night cycle.
Although the specific mechanisms of melatonin are unknown, evidence suggests that these processes may aid in sleep.
Daylight, on the other hand, modifies melatonin production, which is one way your body knows it’s time to wake up.
Melatonin helps your body prepare for sleep, so people who don’t produce enough of it at night may have difficulty falling asleep.
Low melatonin levels at night can be caused by a variety of causes, including alcohol consumption, smoking, caffeine consumption, shift work, ageing, certain drugs, and exposure to too much light at night, including blue light.
Taking a melatonin tablet may help you overcome sleep deprivation and reset your internal clock.
Use melatonin’s sleep-inducing messages to your advantage, not against them.
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“Melatonin levels climb approximately two hours before bedtime,” explains Buenaver. “Create optimal conditions for it to do its function by keeping the lights dim before bed. Stop using your computer, smartphone, or tablet—the blue and green light emitted by these gadgets can counteract the effects of melatonin. When watching television, keep at least six feet away from the screen. Turn off any bright overhead lights as well.” Meanwhile, obtaining enough sunlight in the morning and afternoon can help programme your body to generate melatonin for sleep at the appropriate time of day. Take a trip outside or sit next to a bright window.
Melatonin sleep aid may be useful for occasional insomnia.
“Even the best sleepers have difficulties falling or staying asleep every now and again,” Buenaver explains. “If you are having trouble sleeping for more than a night or two, you may wish to try melatonin.” According to research, a pill may help persons with insomnia fall asleep faster and may have greater benefits for those with delayed sleep phase syndrome (falling asleep late and getting up late the next day).
Skip the melatonin for sleep if…
Melatonin should not be used if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have an autoimmune illness, a seizure disorder, or are depressed. If you have diabetes or high blood pressure, consult with your doctor. Melatonin supplements may potentially boost blood sugar levels and blood pressure in persons using certain hypertension drugs.
How should I take melatonin?
If you want to use melatonin for insomnia, start with a low dose supplement.
Start with 0.5-1 mg 30 minutes before bedtime, for example. If that doesn’t help you sleep, consider raising your dose to 3-5 mg.
Taking more than 5 mg of melatonin is unlikely to help you sleep faster. The goal is to discover the lowest dose that allows you to sleep.
However, before adding OTC melatonin to your routine, it’s best to follow the recommendations that came with your supplement and consult with a healthcare practitioner.
Because melatonin comes in a variety of forms, you should talk to your doctor or pharmacist about which one is best for you.
Melatonin is a popular sleep aid in the United States. Other countries, such as the European Union and Australia, require a prescription for melatonin.
Melatonin Interactions
Melatonin is a hormone and dietary supplement that is often used to promote sleep. Despite its excellent safety profile, the increasing popularity of melatonin has created some concerns.
Is melatonin addictive?
A few investigations on the safety of melatonin have been conducted, but no major negative effects have been discovered. It also appears to have no dependence or withdrawal symptoms.
Some doctors are concerned that it may impair the body’s natural production of melatonin. Short-term studies, however, indicate no such impacts.
Several investigations have shown common symptoms such as dizziness, headache, nausea, and agitation. These, however, were observed in both the treatment and placebo groups and could not be attributable to melatonin.
Melatonin supplements are usually thought to be safe in the short term, even at very high doses. More research on its long-term safety, particularly in youngsters, is required.
Other issues to consider
Several more problems have been identified, however the most of them have not been adequately investigated:
Sleeping medicines interact with each other:
One study discovered that combining the sleep drug zolpidem with melatonin exacerbated zolpidem’s negative effects on memory and muscle performance.
Body temperature has dropped:
Melatonin reduces body temperature slightly. While this is normally not a problem, it may be important for persons who have problems staying warm.
The blood is becoming thinner:
Melatonin may also help to prevent blood clotting. As a result, if you also take warfarin or other blood thinners, you should consult your doctor before taking excessive dosages of it.
Toxicity and adverse effects
Trusted Source melatonin is classified as a dietary supplement by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This implies that melatonin supplements are not regulated by the FDA in the same way that pharmaceuticals are.
While adverse effects in children are uncommon, they can include:
- vivid fantasies
- nausea
- diarrhea
- grogginess
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine also advises caution when administering melatonin to children for sleep, owing to the fact that various melatonin pills contain varying levels, and identifying a safe quantity can be difficult.
In fact, the CDC predicted that melatonin ingestions will account for 4.9% of all pediatric poison control reports in 2021, up from 0.6% in 2012.
If you decide to provide melatonin to your child, make sure to buy products made by reliable companies. According to specialists, here are the 16 best melatonin supplements for 2022.
Melatonin should also be avoided by children with autoimmune diseases or lymphoproliferative disorders (LPD), as well as those on immunosuppressants.
Concerns have also been expressed about melatonin and its potential impact on reproductive system development. However, this is not convincing, and other studies have contradicted it.
In any event, children should not be given melatonin unless there is a valid medical cause and they are under the supervision of a pediatrician.
Pregnancy and Melatonin
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During pregnancy, your natural melatonin levels are critical. Melatonin levels do, in fact, change throughout pregnancy.
The nightly peak of melatonin declines during your first and second trimesters.
Melatonin levels begin to grow as your due date approaches. Melatonin levels are at their highest at full term. After birth, they recover to pre-pregnancy levels.
Melatonin is transmitted to the developing foetus throughout pregnancy, where it contributes to the formation of circadian rhythms as well as the neurological and endocrine systems.
Melatonin appears to be protective of the foetal nervous system as well. It is thought that the antioxidant actions of this hormone protect the developing nervous system from oxidative stress damage.
While it is obvious that melatonin is essential throughout pregnancy, few research have looked into melatonin supplementation during pregnancy.
Taking melatonin pills during pregnancy is therefore not advised.
Melatonin and infants
Melatonin is transmitted to the growing foetus throughout pregnancy. However, a baby’s pineal gland begins producing its own shortly after birth.
Melatonin levels in new-borns are lower during the first three months following birth. They rise following this period, most likely due to the presence of melatonin in breast milk.
Melatonin levels are highest at night after giving birth. As a result, breastfeeding in the evening may aid in the establishment of your baby’s circadian rhythms.
Despite the fact that melatonin is a natural component of breast milk, there is no data on the safety of melatonin supplementation during nursing. As a result, taking melatonin pills while nursing is not advised.
Melatonin and kids
Healthy children and teenagers may also have difficulty falling asleep.
Sleep difficulties are more common in children with developmental abnormalities such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (ADHD).
Melatonin’s effectiveness in children and teenagers is still being studied.
A meta-analysis of seven trials on the use of melatonin in children and adolescents discovered that children given melatonin as a short-term treatment went asleep faster and slept longer than children given a placebo.
For roughly 11 years, a small research tracked persons who had been using melatonin since childhood. It was discovered that their sleep quality was not significantly different from that of a control group that had not used melatonin. This shows that their sleep issues improved over time.
Melatonin studies for children with developmental problems such as ASD and ADHD have yielded conflicting outcomes. Melatonin, in general, has been reported to help children with such disorders sleep longer, fall asleep faster, and have better sleep quality.
Melatonin and senior citizens
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Melatonin production declines with age. Natural reductions in sleep quality may occur in elderly persons.
Despite the fact that research is ongoing, preliminary findings indicate that melatonin supplementation may improve sleep onset and duration in older persons.
Melatonin may also be beneficial to those suffering from moderate cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease. According to some research, melatonin enhances sleep quality and morning alertness in people who have these diseases. More research is still needed.
Melatonin and the elderly
Melatonin production decreases as we age. Natural decreases in sleep quality may occur in the elderly.
Despite the fact that research is still being conducted, preliminary findings suggest that melatonin administration may improve sleep onset and duration in the elderly.
Melatonin may also be advantageous to people with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease. Melatonin, according to several studies, improves sleep quality and morning alertness in persons with certain conditions. More investigation is required.
Future Prospects
We propose three future research directions to further our understanding of the impact of long-term exogenous melatonin usage on pubertal timing in children and adolescents. To begin, known approaches from longitudinal studies of pubertal timing81,82,92 should be adapted to observational research in children who choose to take melatonin on their own.
Starting with children as young as feasible and following them annually to measure the bodily symptoms of puberty would be ideal (eg, age of menarche, Tanner stage development, age at first ejaculation). Because puberty occurs at 8 years of age in females and 9 years of age in boys, studies should recruit girls and boys at a young age, ideally 5 or 6 years of age. Second, it is critical to re-examine and gain a better understanding of the causes behind the conflicting findings in animal research involving exogenous melatonin treatment and pubertal onset.
Third, more research is needed to determine the potential involvement of melatonin-kisspeptin interactions at the cellular and systemic levels. Kisspeptin is a neuropeptide that works on GnRN neurons and is thought to be crucial in the timing of puberty onset. Such research can be carried out at the fundamental scientific level.