Is Melatonin Right For You?

By Author: David Oromaner
Total Articles: 6
Comment this article

The hormone that is released by the pineal gland in the brain in response to darkness is called melatonin. This hormone is what tells your brain it is time to start getting sleepy. It helps regulate other hormones in the body and works to maintain the body's circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythm is known as the internal clock that regulates the twenty four hour a day cycle. Once it becomes dark outside the body should begin to produce more melatonin so to induce sleep.

With the recent invention of the light bulb and particularly florescent lighting that is so bright turning night into day the natural day and night cycle has been thrown into hormonal confusion. Being exposed to bright lights during the nighttime or to little light during the daytime can greatly effect the body's melatonin production. Sometimes our modern inventions can lead to unforeseen changes within the body. Then there is the often unnatural work schedules and travel that people are forced to maintain to make a living. These factors have lead to levels of melatonin and other natural hormones being much to low to trigger sound sleep. There are millions ...
... of Americans that have seep problems.

With the power to change night into day and day into night, and with the crazy work and travel schedules that many people are required to maintain is it really any wonder that our hormonal rhythms are thrown out of whack? No wonder why so many people have such trouble sleeping. The good news is that melatonin is virtually side effect free. I have seen doctors prescribing it to children as young as 4 years old. The key to effective use of this natural sleeping aid is to find the appropriate dosage for you. Most adults find around 3 milligrams to be a good starting dosage. The trick is to find the dose that induces sleep, but that does not make you feel groggy the next morning.

A considerable amount of the research on melatonin has been done on its relationship to aging. Young children generally have the highest levels of nighttime melatonin and senior citizens generally have the lowest levels. Many researchers believe that this lower melatonin level is the main reason why so many older adults are having sleep problems. There is also a school of thought that says if we add melatonin and other hormones back into out systems through supplementation we can slow down the aging process. This approach makes sense to millions of people. Therefore melatonin is often an integral part of any life extension hormonal replacement therapy program.

Melatonin is a truly natural hormone that many people find themselves deficient in. In many cases by supplementing with melatonin we are effectively adding back a vital nutrient that we may be lacking. As far as natural sleep aids go it is probably the first one to try if you are experiencing insomnia. For many people it works well by itself, but for others it works better when combined with other supporting natural sleeping aids such as valerian, theanine, and hops.
David Oromaner is a nutritional supplement specialist. He owns Guaranteed Supplement Designs that develops and distributes cutting edge natural products such as the natural sleep aid GuaranteedToSleep. It is considered to be the best alternative to traditional sleeping aids.