1. What Is Melatonin?
Melatonin is also known as melatonin, melatonin, melatonin, pinealogen, and "sleep vitamin".
It is an amine hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain. Its secretion has a circadian rhythm. Its secretion is suppressed during the day and active at night. Turning on the light at night will also prevent the production of melatonin.
With age, the body's own secretion of melatonin will show a downward trend.
Melatonin health products are often used for sleep disorders, such as adjusting jet lag, biological clock, insomnia, and sleep problems of night shift workers. There are also studies on its use for symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.
Generally speaking, the human body can secrete enough melatonin and does not need additional supplementation.
However, if you need to improve sleep, short-term use of melatonin is considered safer and more effective than traditional sleeping pills.
Sleeping pills may cause people to react slowly or feel drunk, but melatonin does not have similar side effects, and the drug dependence is much lower than sleeping pills.
2. Scientific Opinion on the Effectiveness of Melatonin
Research shows that melatonin may help with certain sleep disorders, such as jet lag, delayed sleep phase syndrome (late sleep and late wake-up caused by disruption of the body's biological clock), sleep cycle disorders (mostly due to disruption of circadian rhythms, inability of the biological clock to adjust in time to adapt to the new environment), sleep problems caused by working night shifts, and sleep disorders in some children.
It has also been shown to help blind people with sleep disorders and regulate their circadian rhythm sleep disorders.
There are mixed results on whether melatonin is effective for insomnia in adults; some studies show that it may slightly reduce the time it takes to fall asleep, that is, help you fall asleep slightly faster.
1. Jet lag
Jet lag may cause problems such as shallow sleep, daytime fatigue, indigestion, and general discomfort.
A 2009 review found that the results of six small studies and two large studies showed that melatonin can relieve the symptoms of jet lag.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine's 2007 clinical practice guidelines support the use of melatonin to reduce jet lag symptoms and improve sleep quality after traveling across time zones.
2. Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder
People with Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder, including adults and adolescents, have difficulty falling asleep before 2 a.m. and cannot get up in the morning. In layman's terms, they go to bed late and get up late.
In a 2007 literature review, researchers suggested that a combination of melatonin supplements + changing patient behavior + reducing nighttime light bulbs may improve the sleep cycle of patients with this type of sleep disorder.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine's 2007 clinical practice guidelines recommend that patients with this type of sleep disorder take melatonin supplements.
In its 2007 clinical practice guidelines, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends supplementing with timed melatonin for this type of sleep disorder.
3. Shift work sleep disorder
Two million people in the United States have shift work disorder because their work hours are not afternoon/night shifts or night/early morning shifts.
The 2007 clinical practice guidelines and the 2010 evidence review concluded that melatonin can improve the quality and length of daytime sleep in patients with shift work disorder, but their nighttime alertness has not improved.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that night shift workers with shift work disorder take melatonin before going to bed to improve daytime sleep.
4. Insomnia
Insomnia is a general term for a series of problems such as inability to fall asleep or very shallow sleep.
Adults: In 2013, researchers analyzed 13 studies on patients with primary sleep disorders and found that melatonin slightly improved sleep onset time, sleep length, and overall sleep quality.
A 2007 study on insomnia patients aged 55+ found that long-term use of melatonin significantly improved sleep quality and morning alertness.
Young people: There is limited research evidence on the use of melatonin by young people with sleep disorders. A 2011 literature review concluded that melatonin is beneficial with minimal side effects in healthy children, children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or autism, and some other groups.
Some studies have shown that melatonin is more effective in improving sleep problems in older people than in younger people or children, possibly because older people have less melatonin in their bodies.
