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Melatonin as a Dietary Supplement to Combat Insomnia
By Donald Saunders
Melatonin is probably the most studied and best understood natural sleep
remedy for insomnia, and can be particularly helpful if you suffer from
initial, or sleep onset, insomnia ¨C difficulty falling asleep.
A hormone that occurs naturally in the body, melatonin is secreted
throughout our lives by a tiny pea-sized organ at the center of the brain
called the pineal gland. The release of melatonin is controlled by your
body's circadian rhythm ¨C your internal 24 hour time-keeping system, or
body clock, which plays an important role in controlling when you fall
asleep and when you wake up. Darkness stimulates the release of
melatonin and light suppresses its activity.
Although the pineal gland is capable of producing melatonin through life,
there is evidence to suggest that its production slows as we get older. This
may well be one explanation for the fact that younger people find it easier
to fall asleep than older people and reinforces the view that melatonin can
be especially useful as a sleeping aid for older people.
As well as occurring naturally in the body, melatonin is also available today
in a synthesized form, available through health food and drug stores as a
dietary supplement. It can also be purchased as natural melatonin, made
from the pineal glands of animals, although its purchase in this form is not
recommended because of the small, but nonetheless significant, risk of
virus transmission.
If you suffer from initial, or sleep onset, insomnia then you might like to
consider taking melatonin about thirty minutes before going to bed. The
dosage will vary from person to person but melatonin is typically available
in tablet form ranging from 1mg up to 3mg.
It is recommended that you start with a low dose and increase this only if
necessary. For many people a dose of 1mg is more than sufficient and you
may well find that starting with just half a tablet, or 0.5mg, will do the trick.
You should also experiment with the time at which you take melatonin as,
although the majority of people find that thirty minutes before bedtime is
about right, you may find that taking it slightly earlier, perhaps an hour or
even two hours before bedtime, will suit you better.
Melatonin can also prove extremely useful as an aid to countering the
effects of jet lag. For many long-haul air travelers taking a very low dose of
melatonin at the start of their flight and a slightly higher dose when going to
bed at their destination has been shown to reduce the effects of jet lag
insomnia.
Melatonin can also be very helpful when it comes to weaning yourself off
those long overused sleeping pills. Although the benefits of discontinuing
sleeping pills are considerable in the long-term, in the short-term giving up
can add to your sleeping problems. One way to help in this process is
therefore to replace your sleeping pills with melatonin.
Although melatonin is widely used as a dietary supplement, and has been
available over the counter for many years now, its use is not regulated by
any statutory authority and so there is little information regarding its
interaction with other medications. If you do wish to use melatonin
therefore and are currently taking any form of medication you should
proceed with care and, if in any doubt, consult your doctor first.
Melatonin is nature¡¯s own sleeping pill and helps many thousands of
people to overcome the problems of insomnia every day. Insomnia is a
common problem, but it is also a condition that can be addressed with
simple natural remedies, that include the use of dietary supplements such
as melatonin.
Copyright 2005 Donald Saunders - http://help-me-to-sleep.com
About the Author
Donald Saunders is the author of a number of health-related publications including "How To Get A Good Night’s Sleep". Pick up your free copy today and discover more about natural insomnia remedies or visit Help-Me-To-Sleep.com to learn more about insomnia and melatonin
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