Melatonin

Melatonin is a hormonal secretion from the pineal gland located in the brain. This chemical is known to be responsible for maintaining the circadian rhythm or the sleep and waking cycles. Melatonin naturally occurs in the some foods in too small amounts like meats, some fruits and veggies. It is available as a supplement online and can be purchased from pharmacy stores online.

What role does melatonin plays in the body naturally?

Body has a rhythm to recognize he day and night and this rhythm is called circadian rhythm that controls the sleeping and waking hours. This body clock controls the melatonin levels made by the body. It secretion rises in the evening and remains high through the night ad drops in the early morning. It is reduced by the remaining in the light for time duration. During winters, body may produce melatonin earlier or later leading to the symptoms called winter depression or a seasonal affective disorder. The hormonal levels are reduced with the age.

Why to use melatonin as a supplement?

This may help the patients who have been travelling for long hours frequently suffer from a jet lag and sleep disorders or insomnia. There are many diseases where melatonin has been found useful to alleviate the symptoms and as a supplementary support in the disease management.

These include:

• Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
• Helps the people get a normal sleep pattern working in a night shift
• Correct sleep pattern after surgery
• Alleviate sufferings of the patients with cluster headaches
• Help the cancer patients and cancer prevention
• Melatonin is helpful for the people with blindness. Blind people may have sleep disturbances as they never see light.

Is it safe? Will it produce any adverse effects?

This must not be given to the small children and pregnant mothers without medical supervision. In most of the cases it is safe to use melatonin in small doses for short term usage. Though there are some withdrawal symptoms your doctor may want you take it for long term. The adverse reactions after stopping the intake may include:

• Sleep disturbances like excessive or no sleep at all
• Low body temperature
• Low metabolism
• Increase in body fat
• Changes in BP
• Stressful dreams
• Difficulty in waking up

Whenever you take melatonin, make sure you are not going to drive or work on heavy machines as it may make one sleepy pr drowsy causing imbalance. Do tell your doctors that you are using it during a health examination.

Dosage

The dosage of the melatonin supplement varies from 0.2 mg to 20 mg according to the condition. This may vary from one person to other. Consult with your physician about the right dosage for your condition.

Medical usage

It has been used in miscellaneous disease conditions even in sexual dysfunction, heart diseases, and immunity related diseases, alteration of the circadian rhythm, conditions related to sleep and seasonal affective disorders. It has been researched that melatonin supplementation may help in the withdrawal symptoms of the drugs like cocaine. It has anti-aging properties and acts as geroprotector as well.

Uses of melatonin are discussed here in detail in various medical conditions:

• Disorders of the circadian rhythm – delayed sleep phase syndrome can be treated with the help of this supplement. Using it during evening hours and getting exposed to sufficient light for sufficient time in the day hours is an effective way. People who alter night and day shifts get symptoms like irritation, sleep disorders and thus, can get melatonin therapy for improving the sleep. It may act as a mild hypnotic when taken just before sleep.
• Learning processes and Alzheimer's disease - melatonin as described before acts as an immunity providing agent and geroprotector that implies it must act on the neurons in the brain as well. Therefore, the clinical studiesand research has found its uses in the improvement of the learning processes as it prevents the neuronal death. It has been found to fight the toxic proteins and end product formed in the Alzheimer's disease in mice suggesting its usage in such patients to prevent further propagation of the disease after diagnosis.
• Delirium – it is helpful in reducing the delirium in arising from various disease conditions. Thus, helpful along with psychotherapy drugs. It is helpful in ADHD as well.
• It has low toxicity levels, hence, no adverse effects.
• It has been useful in reducing the onset and adversity of the cluster headaches and migraine attacks.
• Melatonin has been useful in the cases of the mood disorders and seasonal affective disorders.
• Cancer - in a study among the 643 patients of cancer has shown that melatonin can decrease the death incidence. Cancer ratio is high in men and women doing night work and staying in bright bedrooms for long times.
• Cholelithiasis- though there seems to be no relation between the gall stones and melatonin but it has reduced the inflammation of the glad bladder arising after gall stones, have reduced the oxidative stress and improved the mobilization of the gall stones from the gall balder to intestines.
• Melatonin improves the metabolism and energy production and so it has been found useful in obesity as well. This raises the thermogenic activity in the body by storing brown adipose tissue.
• It is having radioactive properties as well.

Where one can buy melatonin online?

It can be purchased for low cost from the internet drug stores and get direct home delivery by making a few clicks from the comfort of your home. Get appropriate advice about it from your doctor. Be careful about the interaction of the melatonin as supplement with drugs, herbs and supplementation you are currently consuming.