The Miracles of Melatonin

Researchers now prove that this powerful human hormone, known as nature’s sleeping pill, is more than anything they have imagined it to be. Various authors call melatonin a life-giving molecule, a potent antioxidant and the body’s natural wonder drug. These are just some terms coined to describe its miracles.

Melatonin, secreted by the pineal gland, is a pea-sized organ located deep within the brain whose primary role is to regulate cycles of sleep and wakefulness. The number of people who might benefit from taking melatonin as a sleep aid is enormous.

According to Dr. Cliff Singer, one of the principal researchers at the Oregon Health Sciences University, melatonin is just as effective as a common prescription sleep aid but, unlike that drug, it does not interfere with the quality of sleep.

"When you add this to the fact that melatonin is a potent antioxidant and it strengthens the immune system, the implications are boundless," remarked Singer.

Jet lag

Several studies have shown that melatonin dramatically reduces the symptoms of transmeridian travel. Such symptoms include fatigue, early awakening or insomnia, fuzzy thinking, irritability, constipation and reduced immunity. Melatonin helps travelers fall asleep more quickly once they reach their destination and even more important, it helps adjust their biological rhythms to local time. In effect, melatonin resets the body clock to match the "bedside" clock, cutting in half the number of days that people suffer from jet lag.

It is especially recommended that travelers and frequent flyers take a bottle of melatonin in their carry-on luggage. Dr. Josephine Arendt, a biochemistry professor in England, recommends that one should take melatonin an hour before bedtime, local time, a day after arriving at a new destination. Melatonin then performs two jobs simultaneously – it helps the traveler sleep better and speeds up the adjustment of his body clock. More importantly, it accomplishes both of these ends without any significant side-effects.

Aging

"Everyone over 40 should take melatonin at bedtime," advises Dr. Roman Rozenewaig, a leading researcher in Canada.

Rozenewaig believes that the elderly benefit the most from taking melatonin because not only does it regulate their body clock and solve their sleeping problems that the aging process usually brings but most of all, it may also reset their internal body clock and consequently reverse the aging process.

According to Drs. Walter Pierpaoli and William Regelson, renowned authorities on melatonin and authors of the bestseller Melatonin Miracle, the melatonin levels in our body continue to decrease as we age, with the steepest decline occurring from age 50 onwards. By age 60, the pineal glands are producing half the amount of melatonin they did at age 20.

"Not so coincidentally, as melatonin levels drop, we begin to exhibit serious signs of aging," said Pierpaoli and Regelson.

Night-shift workers

Imagine starting your day when the sun sets and the world is about ready to call it a night or struggling to sleep just as the aroma of breakfast served tickles your senses. This is the dilemma faced by people working during the graveyard or night-shift. This creates a great deal of stress which disrupts work and concentration.

Melatonin sends a message of darkness to the body clock, which causes the body to believe that the sun is setting even though it is morning. By continuous melatonin supplementation, the biological rhythms of night-shift workers are more in harmony with their nocturnal schedules.

As an added bonus, the signal that melatonin sends to the body clock is so powerful that it transcends the conflicting message from the sun. That means night-shift workers can be out in the sun in the daytime and still have their bodies convinced it’s nighttime.

More miracles

Melatonin has been described as "oncostatic," which means it helps to prevent the proliferation of cancer cells. In studies done by Professors Hill and Blask at the University of Arizona’s School of Medicine, melatonin inhibited breast cancer cells by as much as 60-70 percent.

At the San Gerardo Hospital in Italy, melatonin significantly improved the survival time of patients with brain metastases when compared to those who were treated with only steroids and anti-convulsant agents. It should be noted that the inhibitory effect melatonin has on cancer cell proliferation may be concomitant with its usage. Hill and Blask observed that the inhibition immediately reversed when its administration was discontinued.

Powerful antioxidant

RJ Reiter, in his book Melatonin, considers the hormone the best antioxidant. If taken regularly, it may be as potent as vitamins C, E or betacarotene, in hunting down naturally occurring, cell-damaging compounds called "free radicals" that can lead to heart disease, cataracts and other age-related degenerative changes.

One can avail himself of these benefits of melatonin through Trianon’s Melatonin-T, which comes in 3-mg capsules and is available as an over-the-counter supplement in all Mercury Drug Store outlets and in leading drugstores like I-mart. It is imported by Trianon International Inc. from Now International (formerly HealthCo International), one of the leading manufacturers of vitamins and food supplements in the United States.

Melatonin-T is recommended at a dose of one to two capsules (3-6 mg) to be taken 30 minutes before bedtime.