What is Melatonin for? Main functions

Javier Colomer 5 min. of reading To Sleep Well Leave a comment

By now, you probably already know that melatonin is known as the “sleep hormone,” but do you really know what role it plays in helping you get a good night’s rest? We’ll give you a heads-up: as a natural sleep aid, it’s unbeatable, so if you want to say goodbye to sleep problems, nothing beats trusting this natural supplement that will let you rest properly to keep your vitality intact, and your health too!

A hormone that regulates your biological clock

It doesn’t matter if you’re an early bird, night owl, or somewhere in between, whatever your sleep chronotype is, melatonin regulates your habit.

What’s melatonin? Well, it’s the hormone released in the dark that synchronizes your biological clock, which is basically your circadian cycle or circadian rhythms that respond to your biological functioning and complete 24-hour cycles, marked by the light-dark pattern.

Get more info about this substance at the link – https://www.hsnstore.eu/blog/supplements/to-sleep-well/melatonin/

What’s the “darkness hormone” for?

Whenever it’s dark, the pineal gland releases melatonin. When your body senses light, melatonin production drops. That’s why blind people or those working night shifts have trouble with melatonin levels.

However, it’s not clear that anyone lacking daytime light exposure or exposed to bright light at night necessarily alters their normal melatonin levels (keep reading at this link).

What is proven is that light exposure stimulates a nerve traveling from the retina to a brain area called the hypothalamus, which goes to the suprachiasmatic nucleus and activates the pineal gland.

Melatonin release happens according to the circadian rhythm and as a response to the day-night cycle. In fact, the enzymes that synthesize melatonin in your body activate or suppress depending on light or darkness. This timed function is why melatonin is classified as a chronobiotic compound.

To keep it clear, once the suprachiasmatic nucleus activates the pineal gland, melatonin enters the bloodstream. Its precursor is serotonin, a neurotransmitter derived from the amino acid tryptophan. Serotonin converts into melatonin inside the pineal gland.

Did you know there’s a close link between melatonin formation and light sensors in the eye? The pineal gland usually starts producing melatonin around 9 pm. Levels rise and you start feeling sleepy.

When your body works normally, melatonin levels stay high while you sleep, for about 12 hours. Around 9 am, levels drop to barely detectable amounts, staying low during the day.

Take note: Between 2 and 4 am, your melatonin concentration peaks before dropping again during the day. At the same time, your blood cortisol level rises, helping you wake up in the morning. At night, cortisol drops and melatonin rises. And so it goes…

What about winter, when daylight is shorter? Well, melatonin production doesn’t fully stop during daytime hours, so it’s no surprise you might feel tired or down during the day.

Daytime physical activity and light exposure support melatonin’s normal rhythm, ensuring its levels rise at night.

Fun fact: young kids have the highest melatonin levels. Many researchers believe these levels decrease with age. If you think about it, this explains why older people tend to sleep worse than younger ones.

In short, remember that melatonin is a neurotransmitter compound derived from serotonin and mainly produced in the brain’s pineal gland. Its role is to normalize your biological rhythm, adapting your body to various biological processes. In other words, it makes you a real “all-rounder” and keeps illnesses at bay.

Why does it help you sleep well?

Because any doctor could tell you that taking melatonin is likely to correct sleep-wake disorders, among other sleep-related issues.

In fact, various studies have shown that melatonin levels drop as the years go by, as we mentioned earlier. This negatively affects sleep quality and duration.

Light stimuli through the retina cause the suprachiasmatic nucleus to activate or speed up melatonin release via the pineal gland.

These systems mainly use the neurotransmitter GABA to exert inhibitory control over activation systems during sleep. After activating the rest mode, neurotransmitters like norepinephrine and acetylcholine are released that counteract sleep and enforce wakefulness.

Melatonin puts “checkmate” on sleep disorders

Along these lines, clinical evidence shows melatonin is that chronobiotic that sets the temporal biological rhythm, helping improve sleep quality and keeping dreaded insomnia away. Also, if you decide to take it, you’ll notice how the time between wakefulness and sleep phases shortens, improving your rest quality and letting you sleep properly again.

Super helpful for reducing disorders, it’s the hormone that helps you:

Reduce primary sleep disorders or those caused by beta blockers and other medications
Treat narcolepsy, a chronic neurological disorder marked by intense daytime sleepiness

Keep reading to discover all the benefits it can bring to your body

Not sleeping like you used to? Make melatonin your nighttime ally and you’ll be back to sleeping like a baby in no time with this alternative to insomnia meds. That’s our recommendation; what you dream about is up to you.

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