The sleep hormone melatonin is essential for regulating the circadian rhythm and making sure you fall asleep, but it may also have a variety of functions in mental health, digestion, blood pressure, and more. Read about the latest research and its variety of potential benefits here.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Melatonin is derived from the amino acid tryptophan and the neurotransmitter serotonin<\/a> [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Melatonin has many important functions in the body, including:<\/p>\n The pineal gland, which is nestled in the brain, makes melatonin. The quantity of melatonin in the blood depends on the time of the day. At night there is 10 to 15 times more melatonin in the blood there is in the day, which helps people sleep [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Melatonin is also made by many other organs in the body, especially in the stomach [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n If sleep is interrupted by blue light exposure at night<\/a>, melatonin levels decrease drastically. In addition, melatonin levels also decrease with age [R<\/a>]. However, darkness does not stimulate melatonin production. It simply permits melatonin production [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Melatonin supplements have not been approved by the FDA for medical use. Supplements generally lack solid clinical research. Regulations set manufacturing standards for them but don’t guarantee that they’re safe or effective. Speak with your doctor before supplementing.<\/p>\n Surprisingly, melatonin has shown promise for reducing pain in endometriosis. In a study of 40 women of reproductive age, 10 mg of melatonin per day reduced pain scores and dysmenorrhea by almost 40% each. Women who took melatonin also used fewer painkillers [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Melatonin plays an important role in the regulation of blood pressure. Activation of its receptors, MT1 and MT2, widens blood vessels, which decreases blood pressure [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Like sleep, blood pressure has circadian rhythmicity. It increases in the morning and decreases at night. Melatonin rises at night and decreases in the morning. This indicates that there may be a connection between melatonin and blood pressure [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Certain types of hypertension (high blood pressure) are characterized by low melatonin [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n In patients with type 2 diabetes, 5 mg of melatonin decreased blood pressure levels. However, there is not enough information about how melatonin reduces blood pressure to determine whether it is effective at lowering blood pressure. It may be used as a supporting therapy in hypertensive patients [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Topical gels or creams containing melatonin may prevent sunburn in people with highly sensitive skin. In multiple studies (a total of 83 volunteers), melatonin gels or creams significantly reduced skin reddening after UV exposure [R<\/a>, R<\/a>, R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n The best formulation and concentration of melatonin gel or cream is unknown.<\/p>\n Thrombocytopenia, a blood disorder characterized by low platelet count, can result from cancer, cancer treatments, and other underlying conditions. In multiple studies, melatonin restored platelet count in patients with these conditions or undergoing chemotherapy [R<\/a>, R<\/a>, R<\/a>, R<\/a>, R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Despite this apparent wealth of promising results, melatonin is generally not used for this purpose because better-studied and more effective alternatives are readily available.<\/p>\n\n
Potential Benefits of Melatonin<\/span><\/h2>\n
Possibly Effective For<\/span><\/h3>\n
1) Endometriosis<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
2) Blood Pressure<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
3) Sunburn<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
4) Thrombocytopenia<\/span><\/h3>\n