Melatonin: The Sleep And Youth Hormone

Melatonin has always aroused great scientific interest. Beyond being responsible for our sleep and wake cycles, it is also the key to our biological clock. In fact, for many, this is where the long-awaited secret to stop aging would be found, to stop deterioration and to reach older ages enjoying a better physical and psychological state.

Something like this may seem to us at first glance little more than a chimera, an impossible. However, the neuroendocrinologist Walter Pierpaoli explains to us in his book “The miracle of melatonin” that his investigations in the Department of Medicine of the University of Richmond (Virginia) are giving good results at the laboratory level.

Let us begin…

It should be said, yes, that we still have to wait a decade to have more conclusive data. But that has not prevented that since then, the melatonin fever intensified even more since the pharmaceutical industries saw a vein in it. It is known that in the United States, for example, more than 20,000 bottles of synthetic melatonin are produced per day.

Many of these people who consume it do not do so just to regulate their sleep cycles a little better. It has been shown that melatonin declines at puberty and that by the 40s our body reduces its synthesis quite drastically. Therefore, the key to maintaining our youth a little longer would be – apparently – to cover that melatonin deficit.

However, the benefits of this hormone go much further than stopping the appearance of that wrinkle or that gray in our hair. Apparently its role in our health and psychological balance is simply amazing.

What is melatonin?

Melatonin or N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine is a hormone that is synthesized from tryptophan and is produced in the pineal gland. It is also interesting to know that not only people and animals have this sophisticated and precious biological element. It is also present in bacteria, fungi, and some algae. It is, so to speak, the key to life.

On the other hand, and for it to occur normally, it needs to receive the different patterns of light and darkness that occur throughout the day. This combination between the light stimulus that comes to us from the retina, the pinealocytes in the pineal gland and the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus are what orchestrate its synthesis.

It is known for example that around 8:00 pm, our melatonin level begins to rise. It will increase progressively  until about 3:00 am in the morning, also at which time our body temperature is usually lower. This is what scientists call “zero biological time.” From this point on, the melatonin level drops again.

The production of melatonin is linked to the hours of sunlight, that is why the time changes and the months that it gets dark earlier, some people dream of being more sleepy. As the sun goes down, melatonin levels start to rise. However, our lifestyle prevents us from going to bed and waking up to the sun cycles. So although we are biologically programmed to sleep when it gets dark, socially and professionally we will continue with our usual schedule.

As a curiosity, it should be said that melatonin was isolated from the pineal gland itself very recently. It was in 1958, when its importance in our circadian rhythms was discovered. Since then, science has done nothing more than delve much deeper into it, studying its role in depression, obesity or neurodegenerative diseases.

Melatonin and its relation to sleep

Patricia is 52 years old and has been suffering from insomnia for a few months. Like most of us you have heard and read in multiple places that “melatonin helps us sleep”. Without thinking, he goes to the pharmacy and buys a bottle to see how it works for him. You do not need a prescription to acquire it, doing it is simple, inexpensive and at first glance it seems the “perfect remedy.”

However … is it really true that melatonin can help us end insomnia?

• Well, it is important to understand that what melatonin actually does is induce sleep, but not maintain it. That is to say, when Patricia takes her synthetic melatonin capsule at 11:00 p.m. she is very likely to fall asleep, but she will surely wake up after a few hours.
• Melatonin supplements can actually be very helpful in dealing with jet lag, as well as helping us with those work shifts where we often have no choice but to sleep during the day to work at night.
• It is also very effective in people with visual deficits.
• In addition, it has also been shown to be useful in reducing the pain associated with different types of headaches.

• There is also another important aspect of these melatonin supplements to consider. Generally, each tablet contains between 3 and 10 milligrams melatonin, when in reality our body already reacts with half a milligram.

Melatonin in people who suffer from stress

Melatonin can be a blessing for people who are characterized by leading a life with a high level of stress and who, also, because of their work, are forced to spend many hours in environments where there is only artificial light. Take, for example, doctors, nurses, assistants or any factory worker who is forced to work long shifts, losing track of whether it is day or night.

• There are many people who, due to work pressure, end up sleeping very little and eating poorly. This lifestyle causes an alarming drop in the level of melatonin. With this, the risk of depression and other associated diseases appears.
• Also, with less melatonin secreted in our body, our circadian rhythms will be altered even more. The immune system will be weakened and we will stop having one of the best biological antioxidants that we have, that capable of repairing cellular damage and slowing down premature aging.

It is vital that if we find ourselves in these situations, we consult with our doctors about the suitability of resorting to synthetic melatonin or limiting ourselves only to improving our diet and adjusting our lifestyle a little better.

Melatonin against aging and degenerative processes

As we have pointed out at the beginning of the article, as we get older, melatonin stops being produced in the same quantities. However, this decline does not only translate into a slightly more deficient night’s rest or to give way to progressive aging.

According to Reyes-Prieto’s team (2009), melatonin has an important antioxidant role. Apparently, it has cytoprotective effects, that is, it can ” enter any cell compartment and trap, among others, metabolites derived from oxygen “. The authors also add that melatonin ” stimulates various antioxidant enzymes and inhibits pro-oxidant enzymes, thus reducing oxidative stress .” This oxidative stress causes the aging of cells and diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s can be derived from it.

There is one fact that we cannot neglect: this hormone also synchronizes the rhythms of our brain neurotransmitters. Thus, something that we will experience as the decades go by is a loss of our cognitive abilities, such as attention or memory.

It is an interesting fact that should be taken into account.

How can we increase our melatonin levels naturally?

It is very possible that after reading all these benefits associated with melatonin, our first reaction is to go to a pharmacy and buy a bottle. It must be said that it is not appropriate. Our doctors will always tell us whether or not to take it, as well as the dose and time of administration. We cannot forget that each person needs a specific dose and that is how we will notice its effectiveness.

Therefore, and before resorting to self-medication, it is always in our power to favor its production naturally through these simple strategies.

Likewise, it is important that our diet is rich in a very special type of amino acid: tryptophan. Thanks to it we will synthesize suitable amounts of melatonin and also of serotonin. These would be some of those foods:

• The egg yolk.
• Banana, banana, pineapple, avocado and plum.
• Dark chocolate is very suitable for raising the level of tryptophan to synthesize melatonin naturally.
• Spirulina.
• Watercress, spinach, beets, carrots, celery, alfalfa, broccoli, dates.
• Nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, cashews …).
• Seeds (sesame, pumpkin, sunflower and fenugreek).
• Whole grains.
• Beer yeast.
• Legumes (chickpeas, lentils, beans, soy …)

To conclude, as we have seen, melatonin is much more than that hormone that regulates and monitors our sleep cycles. It is also the molecule of youth, of psychological well-being and, in turn, that bridge that unites us to the natural rhythms of our planet to live in harmony with it.

Something that we seem to be forgetting.

Bibliographic references

Lewis, Alan (1999). Melatonin and the Biological Clock. McGraw-Hill

Pierpaoli, Walter (1996) The miracle of melatonin. Barcelona: Unrano

Buscemi N, Vandermeer B, Pandya R, Hooton N (2004), Melatonin for treatment of sleep disorders. McGraw-Hill