What is Melatonin?

By sacha tarkovsky - 2006-10-30 - Viewed 8516 times. Find more articles like this in our Drugs category.

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Trouble sleeping?

Afraid to start taking sleeping pills and other medication? You are correct there is a nautural cure.

However, your body produces a hormone called melatonin, and for a variety of reasons, you may not be getting enough. Your sleep problem may be due to this.

The answer to sleep problems, aging and many more questions may be found in this wonderful hormone called melatonin.

Melatonin is a natural hormone found in ALL living creature, from the plant to animal kingdoms. In higher animal species, it is produced in the pineal gland (in the brain), but also in the eye (retina) and the gastro-intestinal tract.

What is Melatonin?

A naturally occurring hormone (derived from serotonin) that is both endocrine (enters the bloodstream from a pineal gland) and paracrine (signaling cell phenomenon, as from the retina when light is low, when the signal is "time to sleep").

Melatonin, besides being a sleep hormone, is a very powerful antioxidant, anti-aging agent, immunoregulator, anti-depressant and sexual dysfunction regulator.

Is Melatonin Safe to Take?

Actually, the 3mg standard dose has virtually no side effects, and does not also affect the body's ability to produce its own melatonin.

Rather, in today's world where we are exposed to great amounts of strong artificial light, our bodies will not produce the melatonin it generally needs.

Melatonin also plays a key role in memory and our ability to learn quickly.

Some very famous studies have been made on melatonin (one by the Nobel Prize laureate Julius Axelrod) where it was proven that melatonin plays a direct role in establishing our sleep cycle and more.

In some mammals with short mating periods (due to hibernation), melatonin also is related to the production of other hormones which control sexual activity.

There are no toxic dangers at all, but it will cause drowsiness, so one must not take it prior to driving or operating mechanical equipment.

It may also react with some medications, so if you are taking any monoamine oxidize inhibitors (MAOIs), you must consult your doctor before taking melatonin

Melatonin and Your Sleep

It seems the very best and easiest solution to restless and un-easy sleep is to take one 3mg melatonin tablet 15 minutes prior to going to bed.

Also for at least 1 hour before going to sleep, make sure the lighting in your environment is progressively less and less, so as to stimulate your body's own melatonin secretions.

Remember, bright light can block melatonin production completely.

Along with the melatonin and dim lights, try to put on some restful and soothing music to keep your mind from focusing on your problems and not sleeping.

Sleep should come too effortlessly, without dangerous and habit forming drugs.

Some Interesting facts about Melatonin

People who work at night, and have their melatonin blocked by evening bright lights have a significant higher incidence of cancer than day workers.

Melatonin appears to prevent the hyperphosphorylation of the tau protein.

It has been proven that hyperphosphorylation of tau protein results in the formation of neurofibrillary tangles. Neurofibrillary tangles are a pathological occurrence seen in Alzheimer's, so melatonin may prove a very beneficial treatment as well as preventative for Alzheimer's disease.

So, instead of getting hooked on sleeping medicines, try melatonin, and remember all the other benefits it may bring to you as well.

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