All About Melatonin

Dr. Dan JensenSleep

Sound Sleep Medical - All About Melatonin
Dr. Dan Jensen

Have you been getting enough sleep? A poor night’s sleep can make you fatigued in the day and decrease your energy and productivity. If you’ve been having trouble sleeping through the night, melatonin may be able to help you fall asleep and stay asleep. Here’s everything you want to know about melatonin.

What is Melatonin?

Melatonin is a hormone that regulates your sleep. This hormone is often called the sleep hormone, and it’s produced in the pineal gland. Melatonin occurs naturally in the body, but the amount of melatonin in your body fluctuates during the day and the night. An increase in melatonin in the evening signals to your body that it’s bedtime. A decrease of melatonin in the morning signals that the night is over and it’s time to wake up.

How Does Melatonin Work?

Melatonin regulates your sleeping and waking cycle, or circadian rhythm. This is the body’s internal clock that controls sleep and wakefulness. Our natural circadian rhythm is based on the sun. When the sun goes down in the evening, the pineal gland starts producing more melatonin, and releases it into the body. Melatonin regulates blood pressure and body temperature, as well as reducing nerve activity. When melatonin increases, you’ll feel tired and sleepy. If your body doesn’t produce enough melatonin in the evening, you’ll have a hard time falling asleep at night.

When sunlight shines into your room in the morning your body will stop producing melatonin. With less melatonin in your body, you’ll start to wake up and feel alert.

What Reduces Melatonin?

Have you been struggling to fall asleep? There are a few factors that can stop the production and release of melatonin, including:

  • Stress
  • Smoking
  • Aging
  • Shift work
  • Limited natural light during the day
  • Too much blue light or bright light during the evening or night

Do you think your body isn’t producing enough melatonin? A great way to increase melatonin levels naturally is by getting enough natural light during the day. Take your lunch break outside, or eat your breakfast in the sun. At the same time, make sure you’re avoiding bright light in the evenings. Blue light from your computer, phone, and TV can trick your body into thinking it’s still daytime. This prevents melatonin production and keeps you awake at night. Turn off your electronics at least an hour before bed to produce more melatonin. 

Melatonin in Food

You may be surprised to learn that melatonin is found in some foods. Eating foods high in melatonin can increase melatonin in your body, and make you feel more relaxed or drowsy. Both eggs and fish have high levels of melatonin. Nuts, strawberries, tomatoes, and mushrooms also contain melatonin. Eating these foods for dinner can increase melatonin in your body, and help you sleep at night. 

Melatonin Supplements

If you’ve been having trouble falling asleep at night, you can take melatonin supplements. These are sold over the counter at pharmacies.  A typical dose is between 1-5 milligrams (mg), but doses can range from .05 all the way to 10 mg. You should take melatonin supplements around 1 to 2 hours before you go to bed, then go to bed at your usual time.

Melatonin supplements can improve the quality and duration of your sleep, and help you fall asleep faster. People who struggle with insomnia can use melatonin supplements to increase natural melatonin levels in the body, and get a good night’s sleep. Melatonin can also be used to help you reset your circadian rhythm after changing time zones, or when shifting between day shifts and night shifts. Taking melatonin for a day or two can help you get over jet lag faster, and adjust to your new work schedule.

Sound Sleep Medical

Melatonin regulates your body’s internal clock. If you’ve been having a hard time falling asleep at night, or wake up repeatedly in the night, you may want to increase melatonin in your body. You can reduce your exposure to bright light in the evening to promote melatonin production. You can also try eating foods high in melatonin, or take a melatonin supplement in the evening. Visit us at Sound Sleep Medical to find out more about melatonin and how you can get a good night’s sleep.