Is Melatonin The Best For Sleep? | Dr. Pat Nardini, Naturopathic Doctor

It doesn’t take much to convince someone that sleep is a crucial factor in determining one’s level of health. We tend to feel a lot better the next day after a “good night’s sleep” compared to when that sleep is short, interrupted, or of otherwise poor quality.

Insomnia is a condition whereby a person will either have trouble falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep the whole night, or will not feel refreshed when waking in the morning (or two or more of these together).

There are many reasons why people suffer from insomnia. This includes medical conditions, like hyperthyroidism, allergies, and chronic pain; lifestyle factors, like screen time late at night and eating too late; and even some prescription medications.

Speaking of medications, many people take them – prescription and non-prescription – to sleep. Sometimes they don’t work as advertised or they come with unpleasant side effects, like extreme grogginess on waking.

This is when I am often asked about natural alternatives to “sleeping pills”.

Addressing the cause(s) of insomnia is necessary to deal with it. This might entail resolving an underlying health condition and/or making important lifestyle changes that promote quality sleep.

Sometimes, however, it may help to get some assistance from natural sources to allow the body to regain a healthy sleep pattern.

One remedy that comes up in the conversation a lot is melatonin. It’s a cinch to find in pharmacies and health food stores and it’s easy to take. So, naturally, people with insomnia are often eager to know if it will help.

I’d like to discuss what melatonin is, how it works, and whether it’s the best option out there for managing insomnia.

What Is Melatonin?

Melatonin (or N-Acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) is a hormone in the acetamide chemical group and is manufactured in the pineal gland inside the brain¹.

Production of melatonin starts at age 2-3 months, peaks at about 40, and steadily declines as we age.

Its total impact on human health is not completely understood, but its main role appears to be in the regulation of circadian rhythms throughout the body. These rhythms involve physical and mental changes that happen over a 24-hour cycle.

One of the most important of these circadian rhythms is the sleep-wake cycle which is takes its cues from the light and the dark. Most of your melatonin is made when its dark, with very little being made during the day¹.

Exposure to light or darkness at inappropriate times can reduce melatonin levels produced by the pineal gland. This, of course, may impact sleep and affect other aspects of health that melatonin influences.

What Is Melatonin Good For?

Let’s look at a few of the potential health benefits of melatonin.

1. Sleep-Wake Cycle

The most well-studied aspect to melatonin is it’s effect on the sleep-wake cycle.

Low levels of melatonin in the body are associated with certain sleep disorders, like delayed sleep-wake phase disorder (DSWPD)². People with this disorder have trouble falling asleep before 2 am and often prefer to sleep until noon or later.

A 2018 randomized controlled trial of DSWPD patients involved melatonin administered 1 hour before bed combined with a sleep-wake schedule for 4 weeks. This resulted in reduced time to fall asleep by an average of 34 minutes, better sleep during the first third of the night, and better daytime functioning³.

Taking melatonin may also benefit shift workers and people with other sleep disorders that involve the circadian rhythm.

Melatonin production normally starts to increase at 8 pm, peaks at 2-3 am, then rapidly falls off by about 5 am⁴. It suggests that factors other than melatonin levels may be involved in sleeping a full cycle. This may explain why melatonin supplements can sometimes help you to fall asleep but not stay asleep.

2. Antioxidant

Another major health benefit of melatonin is its role as an antioxidant.

Melatonin has been known for some time to be a potent neutralizer of free radicals, chemicals created by toxins and normal metabolism, that can damage the body’s tissues⁵. Because of this, melatonin is known as a “free-radical scavenger”, a powerful type of antioxidant.

Other research shows that melatonin can also boost the body’s own antioxidant systems, making them more effective in preventing cellular damage.

Studies have suggested that melatonin can boost the levels of glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase, two of the body’s major antioxidant enzymes⁶.

Melatonin also appears to increase the levels of glutathione itself, the substrate molecule that these enzymes need to perform their function⁷.

Considering all this, melatonin may be one of the body’s best kept antioxidant secrets.

3. Weight Loss

Overweight and obesity are linked to altered metabolism, particularly regarding regulation of blood sugar (glucose) levels. This is why type II diabetes and obesity are so closely linked⁸.

Research suggests that melatonin influences glucose metabolism by helping to prevent glucose intolerance and insulin resistance, factors that can increase the risk of diabetes⁹.

If melatonin can reduce the risk of developing diabetes, it may influence overweight and obesity. The research seems to support this.

A meta-analysis of 23 studies found that 11 of them showed significant results from melatonin supplementation on weight loss, body-mass-index (BMI), or waist circumference, compared with placebo¹⁰.

Although weight loss usually requires lifestyle changes, including diet modifications and exercise, melatonin may be useful in a supporting role.

Due to its antioxidant properties, melatonin may also be helpful for anxiety, migraine headaches, acid reflux, and even to help prevent cancer.

If you decide to supplement with melatonin, oral capsules or lozenges are readily available. Common dosages range from 1 mg up to 5 mg or more. Check with your qualified health practitioner for advice on the dose that is best for you (if any), especially if you are taking any medication or are pregnant.

When Is Melatonin Not A Good Thing?

As we’ve seen, melatonin may be very helpful for those with sleep disturbances that involve difficulty with the onset of sleep. But what if your problem is not falling asleep but staying asleep or not feeling rested when you wake up in the morning?

In such cases, you may have more success with other sleep aids like passionflower, L-theanine, and magnesium.

There’s also a risk of overdoing melatonin.

Overdosing or prolonged use of melatonin may cause early waking, grogginess, nausea, dizziness, headaches, and other side effects¹¹. In extreme cases, a condition called hypermelatoninemia (melatonin excess) may develop from over-supplementation.

Again, talk to your practitioner about potential side effects and if melatonin is the right choice for you and your health concerns.

When used right, melatonin may just be the thing to get you more ZZZs!

Book An Appointment With Nardini Naturopathic

Having trouble with your sleep? Are you interested in finding out if melatonin is the best option for you?

Or perhaps you’d like a review of your overall diet to see where you could be doing better.

Maybe you have food allergies or intolerances and worry you aren’t getting enough nutrients because of your restricted diet.

I’m Dr. Pat Nardini, a naturopathic doctor who offers nutritional counseling services to help ensure all of those gaps in your diet are filled, and that you’re getting enough of all the important nutrients which your body needs to function at its best.

Contact me today for more information, or book a free 15-minute consultation where I will help you understand how naturopathic medicine can help you.

If you have questions about naturopathic medicine, or you’d like to take your first step into the world of naturopathy, contact us at Nardini Naturopathic, and let’s book an appointment.

Yours in health,

Dr. Pat Nardini, Naturopathic Doctor

320 Danforth Ave suite 206,
Toronto, ON, M4K 1N8
-https://g.page/NardiniNaturopathicDanforth

Dr. Pat Nardini, ND is a licensed doctor of naturopathic medicine in Toronto, Ontario. He offers science based natural health solutions with a special focus on thyroid conditions.