Melatonin and Sleep

Melatonin and sleep

Chances are you’ve found yourself at least one night in your life, wondering why you can’t get to sleep. One night is fine, but two, three or four nights a week, and now you’ve got a real problem. Not getting enough sleep has been linked to everything from poor work productivity to marital strife.

So you start to wonder what you can do about it. You can start by reading our article on how to get to sleep. But you may also have heard about a supplement called melatonin that can help you fall asleep. Is it safe? Is it effective? Lets look at the facts.

Melatonin is a hormone, or chemical, created by your brain, and it seems to play a role in allowing your brain to keep up with its day/night balance, or circadian rhythms. It’s levels are highest at night, leading scientist’s to test the theory that this hormone is helpful in getting our bodies to sleep.

In studies and reviews done at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that looked at melatonin’s effect on sleep, it seemed that it did help some in getting people to sleep a little faster, though the effect seems to be mild. The important thing to note is the dose used in those studies- 0.3 mg a night. Higher doses have been linked to the brain becoming unresponsive to the supplement, making the supplement largely ineffective in a few days.

Melatonin can have side effects, like any thing we put in our bodies. It can cause headaches, and daytime sleepiness. It has even been linked to increased feelings of depression. If any of these effects occur, stop using the supplement and contact your healthcare provider.

TargetWholeness is always an advocate of trying to combat insomnia first in a way that helps the body to reset its rhythms without the aid of any supplements or drugs. For more information on how to do that, click here. If your sleep issues still persist, talk to your healthcare professional about melatonin and whether it may be an option for you.