Melatonin

• correct disturbances in the circadian periodicity of the body, often associated with air travel ("jet lag")
• reduce the number of wakenings throughout the night
• reduce the latency period of the onset of sleepiness
• melatonin can help both normal subjects and those afflicted with various sleep pathologies

Have you ever wondered why you get sleepy at night or why sunlight wakes you in the morning? Have you ever experienced "jet lag"? If you have lived in a group situation, perhaps in college, with many females in the same house, have you noticed that womens' menstrual cycles eventually coincide in group living situations? Have you ever wondered why mammals of a certain species all mate at the same time of year? Well, these things aren't mere coincidences; they are examples of circadian entrainment and disruption (in the case of jet lag). Circadian periodicity or "rhythm" refers to the body's daily cycle of hormone secretion. Circadian rhythms can also be monthly, as in menstrual cycles or seasonal, as in mammalian mating patterns. "Entrainment" refers to the organization or ordering of a group or series of processes or patterns. Perhaps you have had the experience of sitting outside on a warm summer day listening to crickets chirping haphazardly for a period of time, then almost at once their chirps coincide and they begin to chirp in unison--the crickets' chirping became entrained. Just like those crickets, there are hormonal functions in the body that entrain and, when working properly, function as a clock--your body's "internal clock" as it is often called. Melatonin is responsible for the entrainment of many of your body's hormonal secretions. So you can see how taking an appropriately timed dose of melatonin can "reset" the clock in your body. This control over sleep cycles can be quite helpful--especially to frequent air travelers.

There are timed secretions of hormones (think of them as biological pendulums) that keep circadian periodicity independently of environmental cues. These pendulums do, however, have an input pathway that heeds environmental cues (e.g. daylength and presence of light--melatonin secretion is stimulated by darkness and suppressed by light). There is also an output pathway, completing a feedback cycle, that informs your circadian periods, such as when you choose to go to bed and how much time you spend outside. Of all outside factors influencing the input pathway, daylength, and TIME SPENT OUTDOORS are the most influential. The nocturnal period of melatonin secretion is inversely proportional to daylength. Stress disrupts the circadian rhythms of the body, as does depression.

When melatonin enjoyed its fifteen minutes of fame a few years ago, popular press touted its anti-aging properties. Their argument was fallacious on two accounts, one logical, another factual. Factually, a gradual reduction of melatonin with aging is NOT a universally accepted aspect of aging. At least one study we've read revealed that healthy elderly subjects have the same melatonin levels as young adult subjects.¹³ (That lowered levels of melatonin occurs in elderly populations is possibly the result of decreased outdoor activities.) That factual presupposition led to the logically incorrect argument that if melatonin decreases with age, supplementing melatonin can halt or slow the aging process. That would be like arguing that since gasoline levels in running automobiles declines over time, refilling the gas tank keeps the car new - absurd! What about wear to tires, belts, hoses and filters?

There has also been talk about melatonin's antioxidant properties, which may have some merit. Interestingly, melatonin itself possesses very little antioxidant ability - in fact, it has been shown to be pro-oxidant, but it may stimulate the body's own endogenous antioxidant defense system. Either way, there are better antioxidants, which in turn impart true anti-aging benefits as well. Check out our OPC Grape Seed Extract and Alpha Lipoic Acid for two dynamite antioxidant products.

Simply take 1.5 to 3mg of melatonin approximately 30 minutes before your desired bedtime. If you have traveled across time zones and are adjusting to a new sleep schedule, only a day or two of this should be needed to reset your internal clock.