What is Melatonin?
The Mayo Clinic defined melatonin as “a hormone produced in the brain by the pineal gland, from the amino acid tryptophan.” Melatonin is thought to be involved in the circadian rhythm, since more is released when it becomes dark and less is released when it is light outside. Besides its natural formation, melatonin is also available as synthetic supplements for sleep disorders.
When is Melatonin Used?
The Mayo Clinic rates multiple disorders where melatonin is used for treatment, graded by the amount of scientific evidence available to validate its claim. It is most advantageous for jet lag: melatonin can be taken to help the body adjust to new time zones, and reduce sleep onset latency (the time it takes to fall asleep). Melatonin has also been shown to be useful for delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS), insomnia, sleep problems among children who have neuropsychiatric disorders, and enhancing sleep in healthy people.
For full disclosure, I take melatonin to readjust my sleep cycle: like many college students, I developed the habit of staying up late to work and sleeping in late. However, this habit continued for months after graduation and become unhealthy. I could not fall asleep until 3 a.m. (sometimes as late as 5 a.m.), and would not wake up until 3 p.m., no matter what I tried. Even with 12 hours of sleep, I was constantly tired. Besides the negative effects on my health, the abnormal sleep schedule was impacting my work schedule. Since I work full-time as a freelance writer, I work at home on my own schedule. But since I could not wake up and be alert, I found my productivity slipping.
Effectiveness and Side Effects
The US Department of Health and Human Services reviewed multiple studies on melatonin and sleep. They found significant evidence that melatonin decreased sleep onset latency in patients with delayed sleep phase syndrome. For normal sleepers taking one milligram to three milligrams of melatonin, there was a significant increase in REM latency.
Side effects were dizziness and drowsiness (found in 20.33 percent of users), headaches (7.8 percent) and nausea (1.5 percent).
After taking melatonin for a week, I have had a good response: I become tired at 12:30 pm (with or without taking melatonin), and wake up at 10 am alert. Compared to my previous sleeping schedule, this is a huge difference. However, not everyone will have the same experience. If you are having problems with sleep, talk to your doctor first: you may have a more severe sleep disorder. Also, melatonin is a short-term supplement, unless your doctor states otherwise. Melatonin will not induce sleep, but will signal to your body that it is nighttime. Before taking melatonin, make sure it will not interfere with other medications, and review the safety information provided by the Mayo Clinic.
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Elizabeth Stannard Gromisch received her bachelor’s of science degree in neuroscience from Trinity College in Hartford, CT in May 2009. She is the Hartford Women's Health Examiner and she writes about abuse on Suite 101.