Melatonin: More Than Just A Good Night’s Rest
Written by Janelle Nieva
Edited by Sameeha Salman
July 31st 2021
Edited by Sameeha Salman
July 31st 2021
With today’s booming popularity of everything encompassing wellness, you may have passed by the health aisle at Target and saw a jar of melatonin gummies for sale among all the other vitamins and nutritional supplements.
So what exactly is melatonin, and how does it help us?
Melatonin is a neurotransmitter that is naturally produced in our body. It is mainly secreted from
the pineal gland in the brain, where most of the production occurs at night. Melatonin is also minimally released throughout the body from different tissues (“Melatonin”, 2018). Additionally, there are also high concentrations of melatonin found in the mitochondria of a cell, where the chemical can be produced and synthesized as well (Hardeland, 2021). Aimed to promote a faster time falling asleep, especially for those with insomnia, melatonin provides a solution for those struggling to get a proper night’s rest. Extremely small doses of melatonin (even under one milligram!) are just enough to reduce the time it takes for people to fall into the first REM period of sleep (Hardeland, 2021).
So we all know that melatonin makes us very sleepy, but it turns out there’s more to this chemical than we thought.
Melatonin actually carries various properties that have the potential to serve greater uses for the field of medicine. With that, we want to discover ways to bring out melatonin’s protective qualities without putting someone into a deep slumber.
Researchers are discovering more about how we can utilize high-dose melatonin therapies as treatment for inflammation and infection. Melatonin’s vast potential can be attributed to its anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory functions. With high doses, it can serve to counteract the effects of oxidative damage, which can occur through exposure from harmful chemicals in the environment. Higher doses of melatonin have also been successful in treating conditions such as ALS, ischemia, viral infections, and sepsis (Hardeland, 2021).
One barrier that must be overcome before solidifying these high-dose melatonin treatments is considering how it will affect the chronobiological aspects of the body. This involves things like our circadian rhythms, which is the body’s internal biological clock that regulates our sleep-and-wake schedule. Scientists are currently on the road to optimize the use of melatonin for immunological treatment without deterring our body’s natural rhythms. Once we uncover this groundbreaking research, dreams will come true (no pun intended)!
References
Hardeland, R. (2021). Divergent Importance of Chronobiological Considerations in High-and Low-dose Melatonin Therapies. Diseases, 9(1), 18. https://doi.org/10.3390/diseases9010018
Melatonin. You and Your Hormones. (March 2018).https://www.yourhormones.info/hormones/melatonin/.