Sleep is the secret to a well-oiled body and mind, but millions of people have problems sleeping or staying asleep. If you could get a little bit of a boost in the system about how great your sleep would be naturally, the answer might be melatonin. Melatonin is also known as the "sleep hormone" because it regulates your body's internal clock and can even act as a useful supplement for people with insomnia, jet lag, or irregular sleeping pattern.

Here we talk about what is melatonin, how it operates, peak effects, melatonin dosage, potential side effects, and taking melatonin supplement. We'll walk you through natural melatonin production methods to sleep better, without perhaps grabbing a pill.

What Is Melatonin

Melatonin is just one of many hormones the pineal gland in your head produces naturally. Melatonin is a master conductor of the circadian rhythm, your own 24-hour clock that sleeps and wakes you. Melatonin also rises naturally when it's dark in the direction of the evening, reaches its peak at night, and falls when it is light in your location once a morning. This makes your body rest during night and awake during daytime.

Apart from being manufactured within the body, melatonin can be found in supplement form and is taken daily to treat sleep disorders such as melatonin for insomnia and melatonin for shift work sleep disorders or jet lag.

How Melatonin Helps with Sleep?

Melatonin won't put you to sleep like a sleeping pill but instead works together with you so that you know that you should be asleep. Melatonin causes slowing down through lessening alertness, lowering body temperature to an optimal point, and release of a tranquil sleepy environment.

Following is how melatonin works its job:

  • It entrains the body's biological rhythm with the circadian rhythm, enhancing sleep-wake cycles by increasing the duration of sleep and reducing arousals during the night.
  • It accelerates the sleeping process, thus you sleep sooner.
  • It is beneficial in enhancing the quality of sleeping in sleep disorder patients with delay in sleeping or out-of-phase sleeping.
  • In travelers, melatonin and jet lag has close connection. It fights jet lag by rearranging the sleep habit into a new level on earth planet.
Melatonin is not addictive compared to sleeping pills, and neither does it usually cause a morning drowsiness, and thus is safer and natural.

Advantages of Melatonin

Melatonin benefits extend way beyond the mere fact that one can sleep. Some of the main advantages are:

Improved Sleep Onset

Melatonin can decrease sleep latency, particularly in delayed sleep phase syndrome and in the treatment of insomnia.

Normal Sleeping Patterns

It is especially good for shift workers, commuters, or circadian rhythm disorder patients like abnormal sleep-wake cycles.

Treatment for Jet Lag

Its intake brings the inner body clock under regulation in a manner that the individual is capable of adapting to new time zones immediately, and recover jet lag as well.

Non-Habit Forming

Melatonin differs from all the other sleeping drugs because it is not an addictive medication and is not found to be addictive.

Antioxidant Effects

Melatonin produces antioxidant effects that can enhance the immune system and also act as an antioxidant shield against oxidative stress harm.

Could be Beneficial in Children with Sleep Disorder

Melatonin in children, particularly children with ADHD or autism spectrum disorder, enhances the timing and duration of sleep greatly but only when controlled by children.


Dosage Guidelines and Recommendations

Optimal dose of melatonin is age-specific, condition of the sleep disorder to be treated, and sensitivity. Some basic guidelines for use are as follows:

  • Adult: Begin with 0.5 to 1 mg, 30 minutes to 1 hour before bedtime. Up to 3 mg as needed.
  • Children: Prescribed. Typical dosing 0.5 to 1 mg.
  • Elderly: Lower doses (0.1–0.5 mg) might be necessary because of the lowered rate of melatonin breakdown.
For zonal travel, take melatonin at your destination bedtime a few days prior to and upon arrival for 2–5 days. The best time to take melatonin must be 30–60 minutes before bedtime. Taking it one hour before bed will disrupt your sleep phase and result in an interference with the body's secretion of melatonin.

Potential Side Effects and Precautions

Melatonin must be used for only a limited period of time, but like any supplement, drug interaction or side effect can occur. The most frequent melatonin side effects are:

  • Drowsiness or dizziness
  • Headache
  • Extremely vivid nightmares or dreams
  • Nausea or stomach upset
It is serious and uncommon side effects like mood swing or hormonal imbalance, especially when used for extended durations. Also, since melatonin controls the hormones, it should be strictly avoided during pregnancy and lactation unless under a physician's supervision. People suffering from autoimmune diseases, depression, and epilepsy need to approach a doctor before taking melatonin.

Natural Ways to Increase Melatonin Levels

You do not necessarily need to be on melatonin supplements yet. Your body can do the same thing too. These are how to boost natural levels of melatonin naturally:

Get More Daylight Exposure

Daylight exposure during the day regulates your melatonin and circadian rhythm.

Decrease Night Artificial Light

Blue screen and phone light suppresses melatonin. Use automatic blue light filters or turn off devices at least an hour before bedtime.

Dark Sleeping Area

Sleep in the dark, or wear an eye mask to stimulate release of melatonin naturally.

Consume self-regulating foods that are melatonin-rich

Bananas, tart cherries, oats, and almonds all have chemicals that stimulate release of melatonin.

Create a Regular Sleeping Routine

Same time bedtime and wake-up time each day conditions your body to release melatonin at the right time.

When to Even Take Melatonin Supplements?

Melatonin supplements can be taken if:

  • You have resistant insomnia to lifestyle changes.
  • You are traveling across time zones and need to minimize jet lag.
  • You work at night and cannot be locked into an ordinary sleep regimen.
  • You have delayed sleep phase disorder and must reset your body clock.
  • Your child has a diagnosed sleep disorder and may be prescribed melatonin by a physician.
If the sleep disorders are chronic, then it would be advisable to visit a doctor to determine if there is some medical condition.

Conclusion

Melatonin for sleep is a highly potent naturally occurring hormone that has the ability to bring good sleep behavior. Insomnia, jet lag, or an irregular routine can be wholly eliminated by the intake of melatonin and reset the body clock once more, along with the enhancement in the quality of sleeping.

Though between melatonin vs sleeping pills, sleeping pills are addictive, melatonin is not and in harmony with your own natural rhythms. But even with knowing how much melatonin to take, paying attention to side effects, and how to stimulate melatonin naturally may be the answer. If sleep melatonin is on the table, use it as a temporary fix, never long-term, and always with the monitoring of a health pro.

Please book an appointment with the best Psychiatrist in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, and all major cities of Pakistan through InstaCare, or call our helpline at 03171777509 to find the verified doctor for your disease.