There Is A “ME” In Melatonin!
What’s This Melatonin Stuff??
Great question, I am glad you asked! Melatonin is a…you guessed it…hormone! It is produced naturally in us humans in the Pineal gland (I found out that the Pineal gland is a small gland in our brain). Melatonin is a hormone that helps regulate the sleep/wake cycle in us. It does this by causing drowsiness and actually lowering our body temperature which in turns helps us into our natural sleep pattern.
We Have A Sleep Pattern?
The answer is yes we do, and there are some very interesting things about this or these patterns! It seems our bodies have an internal clock that regulates many things for us and one of them is when the Pineal gland produces and distributes Melatonin to our body.
Circadian Rhythm
This determination is based on our Circadian rhythm and influenced by of all things light levels! (I have to tell you that since I decided to not just take the doctors word for things I have learned so much!) As I understand it, the Circadian rhythm is an approximately 24 hour cycle of biological functions for our body. These include such things as hormone production and other important actions such as cell regeneration.
The thing about this cycle is the main governance of it is tied to the light/dark periods of the day. Now that is a very simplistic explanation, but it is the easiest way for me to relate it to you. That said, we typically are awake in the light and sleep in the dark, except for those special times we don’t like to admit we had now that we are older and no better!
So during the dark period in the Circadian rhythm the system tells the Pineal gland to produce Melatonin to urge us to the sleep condition. The production typically starts at dark and increases during the night till about the 2:00am mark then starts to slow until it stops when light appears.
Things I’m glad I found out!
I have the fortune of being the dad of two really special girls. While I love them dearly, I like many parents, had my challenges with them as they grew up. I am sure that my parents never had these challenges with me, and I am not about to ask them if they did. But one of the challenges was the idea of sleeping when they were little and I have to tell you that it seemed to go until they left home!
Babies Don’t Achieve A Regular Melatonin Cycle Until The Third Month
Which explains why I got no sleep when they were born! Oh there were so many walks around the block at midnight, pushing that stroller and singing lullabies. I am sure that they do not remember any of that!
Sleep was an issue until after they left home, which is another discovery concerning Melatonin production.
Melatonin Production Is Delayed In Teenagers
As if there are not enough things to affect raising a teenager, during the teenage years, Melatonin production is delayed! It causes their sleep cycles to be delayed accordingly. The cycle starts later so they stay up longer. If that wasn’t bad enough, the cycle produces Melatonin longer which means they sleep later!
Who thought that gem up? Well now you know, they just can’t help it, the deck is stacked against them. The good news is that we did not and/or are not doing anything wrong when our kids stay of late or sleep in.
Winter Months Affect Circadian Rythem
Have you ever wondered why you’re so tired in the winter months? Seems like your having a great day getting lots of stuff done and just about dinner time you feel less enthused than just an hour before. Then by the time the dishes are done and sit down to finally put your feet up you just don’t know if you can stay awake any longer?
Well the answer is in the Circadian rhythm. Remember that the rhythm is affected by light. Winter days are the shortest days of the year. The earlier the darkness, the earlier the Melatonin production is our bodies! So again, you really can’t help it, so let yourself off the hook if it happens.
Why am I worried about Melatonin?
There are so many great questions today! The answer to the one above is maybe you don’t need to. If you are a well-adjusted adult in the prime of your life, chances are you don’t need to worry. I you are in any other category of adult, then Melatonin is a really powerful and beneficial hormone. The reason I started looking at Melatonin had to do with my sleep. I just wasn’t doing it, sleeping that is. I knew I needed more sleep so I asked Dr Goldstein what I should do about!
I asked if I should get a sleep study or try sleeping pills or something experimental? I was truthfully tired of the exhaustion and felt it was affecting more than just my typical jovial mood. At that point he told me I could do any of those things, but the likely answer was Melatonin or in my case the lack of it! That’s when I found out that the older a person gets the less Melatonin the body produces and in some cases stops producing. So my body was just following orders and I needed to help my body by adding Melatonin as a daily supplement.
How much?
Well, I am not the right person to say how much to take, but I can say that if you take it as suggested in the directions, then you should have nothing to worry about. If you are unsure, then a call to your doctor or pharmacist might ease your mind. Me I take between two and three tabs a night depending on the circumstances, which puts me at 6mg to 9mg each evening. It helps me a great deal and I am thankful for the education Dr Goldstein gave me on Melatonin.
Anything Else About Melatonin?
Yes, several things! First let’s review Melatonin’s potential side effects:
- Drowsiness
- Lower body temperature
- Vivid dreams (my personal favorite)
- Chance of morning grogginess
- Small changes to blood pressure
To me it sounds like a good nights sleep, but the lawyers must be worried so every label says the same thing about this dietary supplement.
Women With Good Levels Of Melatonin Are Less Likely To Develop Type II Diabetes
On the positive side, Melatonin is a powerful free radical scavenger, an anti-inflammatory, anti-aging and there are suggestions and studies that indicate the women with good levels of Melatonin are less likely to develop Type II Diabetes. There are many more suggestions and speculations as to the benefits of Melatonin, but I am confidant that with the things mentioned already there is a better than sufficient case for including Melatonin in your daily supplement routine!
Besides, who doesn’t want to dream of this…
