What is Melatonin: Benefits, Uses, Side Effects, and Dosage

Benefits

The following significant benefits are associated with melatonin —

1. Regulates Sleep-Wake Cycle

This hormone plays a leading role in promoting sleep and inhibiting the wake-up signals your brain sends. It manages and maintains your body’s internal clock or circadian rhythm, making it easy to fall asleep and wake up fresh the next day. In other words, this hormone can give you deep, restful sleep and complete relaxation.

2. Slows Down Ageing

The antioxidant properties of melatonin can control the cellular damage caused by free radicals. Damage due to free radicals and the consequent oxidative stress are the main culprits behind ageing process. Therefore, this hormonal supplement may keep you looking younger for several years.

3. Improves Your Eyesight

Studies show that the melatonin hormone, rich in antioxidants, can nourish your eyesight and prevent cellular damage in the eyes, keeping age-related eye diseases like macular degeneration and glaucoma at bay.

4. Treats Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)

Scientific evidence shows melatonin as a remedy for GERD or gastroesophageal reflux disease. In one of the scientific research projects, it was evident that people who took melatonin experienced fewer heartburns and upper abdominal pain episodes triggered by GERD.

5. Supports Gut Health

Apart from your brain, your gut also produces melatonin. Thus, many researchers believe in the power of this hormone to improve your digestive health. A steady supply of melatonin has been linked with treating issues of the gut, like irritable bowel syndrome, indigestion, constipation, and bloating.

6. Relieves Seasonal Affective Disorder

Lack of exposure to sunlight may often lead to the onset of SAD or seasonal affective disorder in some people. This phenomenon is widespread in winter months and can cause depressive thoughts. Researchers believe that melatonin could relieve the sufferers of this disorder by regulating body's response to darknet or dim light. Under the effect of this hormone, individuals suffering from seasonal affective disorder can lift their moods.

7. Keeps Your Heart Healthy

Studies show that melatonin can regulate blood pressure and keep your heart healthy. Its antioxidant properties can reduce inflammation within the body and lower the risk of heart attacks.

When to take it?

Listed below are the particulars of melatonin use —

• The melatonin supplement is primarily used as a sleep aid by people who have difficulty falling and staying asleep. The supplement should be taken 1 to 2 hours before bedtime. Additionally, it should be taken after meals.

• If you have had an early evening dinner, you should have a small snack, such as a few biscuits, before taking the supplement at bedtime. It is best to avoid taking the supplement on an empty stomach, as that may cause unwanted side effects.

• It is not advisable to take the supplement in the morning. The supplement should be taken only when you can sleep for six to seven hours. During the daytime, most of us take short naps but do not sleep for such long hours. Therefore, taking the supplement during the daytime can cause unwanted side effects.

• If you are about to travel to a different time zone and are apprehensive about jetlag, you may start taking the tablet 1 to 2 hours before bedtime at your destination a couple of days ahead of your journey.

What to watch for?

Although melatonin is an effective, non-habit-forming sleep aid, it should not be used for a long time. Short-term use of this medication is generally safe, but if used for a long time, it can produce some unwanted side effects. Most people do not experience any side effects, but some may.

The common side effects of melatonin are:

• Nausea

• Dizziness

• Headache

• Daytime drowsiness

Some uncommon melatonin side effects include:

• Vivid dreams

• Irritability

• Mental confusion

• Reduced alertness

• Constipation or diarrhoea

• Stomach cramps

• Urinary incontinence

• Mood swings

• Short-term depression

Melatonin may interact with other drugs, making those medicines ineffective. The drugs melatonin may interact with are:

• High blood pressure medicine

• Diabetes medicine

• Blood thinners

• Contraceptive pills

• Immunosuppressants

• Seizures preventative medication

In some rare cases, melatonin may even cause seizures. Therefore, you must consult a doctor before starting the supplement.

Dosage

If you are troubled by insomnia or finding it difficult to get sound sleep throughout the night, you can consider taking the supplement as a sleep aid. The hormone melatonin is naturally produced by our brain, and people with normal sleep cycles do not need any melatonin supplements. However, people with disturbed sleep cycles and disrupted circadian rhythms may use melatonin to correct their cycles. However, the supplement should never be taken for a long time.