Healthytalk8 There are many health benefits of Melatonin, but first, it is a hormone that releases in our brain in response to darkness.
Being exposed to light at night can block melatonin production, which interacts with sleep patterns.
Melatonin is also known for circadian rhythms, (our body’s internal clock, which tells our body when to sleep, and when to wake (1)
It is naturally released in the brain, but in some people like shift workers, with jet lag, and insomnia MT supplements are required for sleep.
Melatonin is also produced in other organs such as the gastrointestinal tract, skin, retina, bone marrow, and lymphocytes (2) (3).
Melatonin plays a vital role in a good night’s sleep, but it plays another essential role in health matters.
Here are the top 10 surprising health benefits of melatonin which include:
Helpful in sleep disorder
Contents
Asleep disorder exists whenever a lower quality of sleep results in impaired functioning or excessive sleepiness.
Melatonin is primarily known for the quality and quantity of sleep (2).
It is one of the best ways to treat sleeplessness and promote sleep aid and a natural way to treat insomnia.
Studies have shown that melatonin synchronizes the circadian rhythms, and improves the onset, duration, and quality of sleep.
During a study, where participants were treated with 2 mg melatonin, results showed improvement of REM sleep behavior disorder symptoms in all patients.
According to the research on the effect of melatonin on sleep, it induces relaxation and maintains quiet wakefulness.
Studies suggest that melatonin shows to prevent phase shifts from jet lag and improves insomnia in healthy adults, but to a limited extent.
However, melatonin supplements also have some side effects, so talk to your doctor first.
Antioxidants effects
Evidence suggests that its antioxidant properties play a vital role in aging and age-related disorder.
Its antioxidant agent may be of use in the treatment of many diseases including various cancers, hypertension, pulmonary diseases, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Due to being high in antioxidants, it can help prevent cell damage and keep your eyes healthy.
Antioxidants and free-radical scavengers are safe to be used during pregnancy and also prevent and treat PE and FGR (fetal growth restriction).
In a study, results showed that antioxidant in melatonin has proven beneficial effects on beta-cell protection in a diabetic patient.
Its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory agent prevents tissue damage and blocks transcriptional factors of pro-inflammatory cytokines (3).
Check Out – Rich Natural Antioxidants Foods That Easily Avaliable Anywhere
Help in Schizophrenia
Melatonin could be used for the treatment of sleep disorders in schizophrenic patients (4).
Schizophrenia is a mental illness that affects several cognitive functions, such as memory, thought, perception, and volition (5).
It indicates that melatonin would improve sleep disorders in schizophrenia (6).
However, other studies showed no effect of melatonin in schizophrenia or bipolar disorder (7)
Research has shown that melatonin is an adjunctive treatment for mood stabilizers in treating sleep disorders in bipolar disorder.
A randomized trial of melatonin vs placebo with 40 people with schizophrenia using (3–12 mg of MT dose for 2 weeks) for regular medication.
Results showed that compared to placebo, melatonin has some benefits on night-time awakenings and sleep duration (8).
And was also linked to improvements in mood and daytime functioning (10).
May Treat Mental illness
Researchers and many studies have shown that melatonin has been used for depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues.
Meta-analyses have suggested melatonin to be effective in the treatment of primary sleep disorder by reducing anxiety (11).
Dr. Rafla says that melatonin helps patients with managing anxiety during medical and dental procedures.
Melatonin secretion is an index of norepinephrine activity in depressed patients.
A study showed that MT levels were found in patients suffering from major depressive disorder which decreased after treatment.
One study showed a significant treatment effect on depression with melatonin compared to a placebo (12).
Another study found that melatonin might be beneficial for the seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which involves depression.
In another study, results showed that treatment with melatonin significantly decreased (SAD) depression levels compared to placebo (13).
One more study showed that MT has been shown to reduce the risk of depression within 3 months after surgery.
Promote Immunity
The immune system is like a protection shield that protects us from viruses, and diseases caused by tiny invaders.
A study suggests that MT enhances immune function, by enhancing the production of progenitor cells of granulocytes and macrophages, and of NK cells.
Research on mice showed that it acted as an immunosuppressive agent and reduced Th1 cytokine levels permitting long graft survival.
Melatonin is also involved in managing immune function, blood pressure, and cortisol levels (14)
There are many ways to boost immunity and has no side effects because it is all-natural which include:
- Yoga
- well-balanced diet
- turmeric milk
- essential vitamins like D, B6, E
- Exercises like running, gym, etc
Check Out – Food To Eat, and Avoid For Strong Immunity
Good for skin health
According to the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, melatonin-induced antioxidants are more effective than ever-popular vitamins C and E.
Melatonin stimulates your body’s natural production of these enzymes,” Dr. Engelman says.
Due to its antioxidant and radical scavenger properties, melatonin may act as a protective shield against UV rays on the skin (15) (16) (17).
A well knows research has shown that topical melatonin improves the clinical signs of skin aging (18) which include:
- Promote skin wound healing (19) (21) (22)
- treat dermatitis (23) (24) (25) (26)
- Protect against UV rays
- seborrheic dermatitis
- vitiligo (27)
You can increase melatonin levels by eating certain foods like – milk, olives, almonds, fatty fish, etc which blow inner beauty.
Using it might lead to skin darker, or contracting, so consult your doctor first, before using a melatonin supplement.
Check Out – Foods Rich in Melatonin For a Good Night’s Sleep
It May help with PCOS
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a widespread endocrine disorder, affecting approximately 20% of women within reproductive age
Studies reveal that elevated melatonin levels in the serum of PCOS patients were found to be positively allied with testosterone levels.
Several studies evaluated the effects of melatonin in the treatment of PCOS to improve fertility and hormonal changes.
A study found that melatonin can improve the oocyte and embryo quality in PCOS patients, and is also benefical in correcting the hormonal alterations in PCOS patients.
A study where IVF women are included showed melatonin with Myo-inositol co-supplement improved embryo and oocyte quality in women with PCOS, compared with Myo-inositol alone
Prevent Jet lag
Jet lag is a sleep-related disorder that affects anyone who travels rapidly across time zones (28).
It can affect the overall body, which includes:
- Disturb sleep pattern
- daytime fatigue
- reduce performance
- malaise
- digestive problem
- disturb melatonin production
Jet lag and melatonin are significantly connected with each other, where melatonin supplements may reduce jet lag sensation (29).
Studies were 142 travelers included, showed that melatonin may be better than a placebo, in reducing symptoms of jet lag after flights.
If you are traveling from another place and want to prevent jet lag, then you should take melatonin a few days before leaving.
May Treat Irritable bowel syndrome
IBS is a common disorder marked by abdominal pain or discomfort, in combination with disturbed bowel habits (30).
A small study where rats were included, showed that small doses of MT accelerated the intestinal transit, while high doses reversed this effect.
Melatonin has a painkiller effect which may help to reduce abdominal pain and the sensation of abdominal distension in IBS patients.
Studies suggest melatonin’s beneficial role in preventing gastropathy-related anti-inflammatories (31).
Reduce the Risk of Cancer
A review study showed that melatonin may be effective in improving sleep quality and insomnia in patients with cancer.
Cancer is a group of cells involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body.
Studies reported that melatonin produced an antiproliferative effect against breast cancer (32).
MT antioxidants agents, reduce the generation of free radicals, which boost immune defense and lower the risk of disease and cancer (33).
A study was conducted on tumor mice treated with (10mg/kg) of MT and (5mg/kg) of cisplatin.
Results showed that melatonin was able to reduce DNA damage and improve the anticancer effect of cisplatin (a chemotherapy drug).
It has been reported that (MT) may control tumor growth in advanced cancer patients, and play as a natural anti-angiogenic molecule (34).
