Melatonin under scrutiny: what is melatonin? And what can it help?

Melatonin is one of the most widely discussed supplements of recent times. Many people reach for it when they cannot fall asleep and only think of some pills under the name melatonin. However, melatonin is a completely natural product and is found in a wide variety of foods and its production can be increased naturally. However, let's look at all the details one by one within this article.

What is melatonin?

Melatonin is one of the hormones and is often referred to as the sleep hormone or the hormone of darkness. What is important for us is that it is a substance that is produced in the body quite normally and, in addition to the human body, it is also found in some plants, which produce it as a defence against oxidative stress. Although most people associate it primarily with promoting sleep, melatonin has a number of potential positive properties for our health. For example, according to some research , it is related to the functioning of the immune system, blood pressure, and is also related to cortisol levels. In addition, however, some studies also suggest that as an antioxidant it may be related to eye health in specific cases, for example.

Benefits of melatonin

In practice, there are a number of benefits that melatonin boasts. In addition to the well-known promotion of sleep, it also has an indirect effect on stabilizing cortisol levels, regulating free radicals and protecting the mitochondria. However, let's look at the individual effects in a little more detail.

Promotes sleep

We've already written about sleep in detail in our article with tips for quality sleep, but it's definitely worth mentioning in the context of melatonin itself. For example, research conducted on people suffering from insomnia has shown that using melatonin two hours before sleep helped the subjects fall asleep faster and improved overall sleep quality. At the same time, it should be noted that, unlike various sleep medications tied to drugsprescription drugs may have significantly fewer potential side effects.

Suppresses seasonal depression

Seasonal depression affects up to 10 % of the world's population, according to available sources, and is usually the most common depressive conditionSome experts attribute this to changes in circadian rhythms caused by changes in light. Although there have not been many studies on this topic, some suggest that melatonin might suppress some of the symptoms.

It has an antioxidant effect

According to some sources, melatonin is a very powerful antioxidant that helps the body get rid of free radicals. Although so far other studies on this topic are quite limited, this effect is also definitely worth mentioning.

Getting enough sleep stabilizes cortisol

Cortisol probably doesn't need much introduction - this hormone, influenced largely by stress, can be behind a whole host of health complications. Among other things, it can also impair our sleep and be behind chronic fatigue.and, in the long term, can also negatively affect the functioning of the immune system. That's why it's important to get enough sleep, which melatonin can help with in addition to proper habits.

How to dose melatonin?

Melatonin is approached differently across the world, and while some countries sell fairly strong supplements, elsewhere its dosage isIn other countries, melatonin is linked to a prescription or only supplements with low amounts of the active ingredient can be purchased. In general, foreign sources recommend using between 0.5 and 10 mg of melatonin, but we would definitely recommend sticking to a smaller amount to start with. For example, in our ranking of the best melatonin products, the first place mentionsWe'll mention a dietary supplement from Minus Age that has only 0.25 mg of the active ingredient and yet it worked absolutely great for us.

When to take melatonin?

The appropriate time to take melatonin depends largely on what you expect from this supplement. In general, however, we would recommend taking it between 30 minutes and two hours before bedtime. However, if you have trouble falling asleep, you may need a more comprehensive solution. We mention the possible methods in our article 21 tips for proper sleeping but most important of all, we think it's important to get a good night's sleepsleeping habits, sleeping in a well-ventilated, dark and not too noisy room.not to expose yourself unnecessarily to blue light and not to stress before going to bed.

Natural sources of melatonin

Of course, melatonin can also be obtained from natural sources. Among the foods in which it is most abundant are red cherries, grapes, goji, pistachios, oats, eggs, milk strawberries or tomatoes. It is this cherry that is used by some supplement manufacturers to make natural melatonin, which you can also try. A typical example of such a supplement is Brainmax Natural Melatonin.

Which melatonin to choose? Does it have any negatives?

Although some people think otherwise, according to scientific studies, melatonin is safe and does not create any dependence on it in the short or long term. On the other hand, it is fair to point out that the most commonly reported side effects of melatonin include drowsiness, nausea, headaches and dizziness. At the same time, it is a good idea to consult your doctor if you are taking any medications regularly. Melatonin can interact badly with antidepressants, blood thinners or blood pressure medications. Otherwise, however, there are a number of options, and we would definitely recommend reaching for melatonin from Minus Age, which was the winner of our comparison of the best melatonins.