By Melatonin is a hormone that we secrete at night. Its benefits for mental well-being include improving mood and insomnia. Stay tuned to read all about it!
Melatonin is a hormone that our body secretes at night to help us fall asleep and that provides multiple benefits. You’ve probably heard of it more than once, but you probably don’t know about its other qualities.
Although its main function is to regulate sleep-wake cycles, melatonin provides other benefits for psychological well-being. In this article, we will tell you everything about the so-called “sleep hormone.”
What is melatonin and how is it produced?
Melatonin is a hormone derived from tryptophan, which is converted into serotonin and then into melatonin. It is known as the ” sleep hormone ” because the pineal gland produces it at night and it is inhibited by light. In other words, our body produces more of it in the dark.
It is also synthesized outside the pineal gland, in the intestinal tract, skin, bone marrow, platelets and retina. In its short 20 to 40 minutes of life, it is distributed throughout the blood and cerebrospinal fluid and can be detected in our saliva, sperm or amniotic fluid.
One peculiarity is that its production decreases if there is a change in the sleep-wake cycle. Some cases are time lag, such as jet lag , going through stressful situations or being exposed to bright light before going to bed. Likewise, its quantity decreases as we age.
For all these reasons (and more), its importance is fundamental for the body. Not only does it influence the quality of sleep, but it also has great antioxidant properties , similar to vitamin C and E. It also promotes health, as we will explain below.
Benefits of melatonin for the mind
The main benefit of the “sleep hormone” is indicated by its name; it is essential for a good night’s rest. However, it has advantages for mental health that you may not know about, but which we will explain shortly.
1. Promotes sleep
Its main function is to transmit information about the daily cycle of light and darkness to our body. In this way, body structures respond to changes in photoperiod and temperature changes in order to organize their functions. Thanks to it, we know when to sleep and when to wake up.
According to a text in Current Treatment Options in Neurology , melatonin secretion serves to regulate the circadian rhythms that keep the body in balance between light and darkness. This helps regulate our core temperature and sleep-wake rhythms.
That is, this hormone promotes sleep and inhibits wakefulness signals. Its production peaks between 2:00 and 4:00 a.m. and gradually declines with light exposure. And, as anticipated, its peak nocturnal concentration may decline as we age .
2. Reduces insomnia
Related to the previous point, another of the benefits of melatonin has to do with sleeping without problems. You may wonder why you sometimes have trouble resting. Insomnia is that persistent difficulty in falling asleep and staying asleep. In turn, it is linked to other problems, such as depression and anxiety.
It is normal that if we rest poorly, we feel worse the next day. In addition, sleep disorders are more common with aging. Higher levels of melatonin are able to extend total sleep time, as indicated by a review in Neurological Research . They also reduce apnea, hypersomnolence and parasomnias.
3. Prevents neurodegenerative diseases
Neurodegenerative diseases are related to aging and present psychological symptoms such as depression, anxiety or stress. These include Alzheimer ‘s disease , Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
In relation to these pathologies, another benefit of melatonin is that it can promote cell survival and protect neurodegeneration . Melatonin is a great antioxidant that regulates the cell recycling process, called autophagy.
4. Improves memory and abstract thinking
Melatonin protects the brain from oxidative stress conditions, especially the hippocampus. Thus, it allows for better memory performance. This hormone produces an increase in antioxidant enzymes in that part of the brain, even if we have habits that promote oxidative stress, such as alcohol consumption.
This is revealed by a study from the Venezuelan Archives of Pharmacology and Therapeutics , which indicates that a higher amount influences better functionality of cognitive processes, such as memory and abstract thinking.
5. Fight depression
The benefits of melatonin include its antidepressant effect . The “sleep hormone” maintains our body’s circadian rhythm and, in turn, modifies serotonin neurotransmission, which is linked to depressive mood.
Although the phenomenon of depression is complex and is influenced by many factors, both intrinsic and extrinsic, melatonin also has an influence. Therefore, when there are times of the year with little natural light, such as in winter, depression symptoms tend to be more pronounced in contrast to times such as summer.
6. It has anti-stress effects
The benefits of melatonin given so far are many, but there is one more related to mood. Thus, higher levels of this hormone prevent and improve stress levels.
When we are stressed, cortisol levels increase. Interestingly, melatonin helps lower them and therefore improve our mood and stress. Its effect is to inhibit cortisol secretion.
7. Reduces anxiety
Melatonin lowers anxiety (Repova et al ., 2022). It is likely that when we are tired or sleep poorly, we feel more unwell. As with stress and depression, melatonin helps lower cortisol levels. This is why we will feel better if melatonin is high in our body.
Can melatonin be increased?
The answer to this question is yes, it is possible. There are dietary supplements that raise levels of melatonin unnaturally, although they are not recommended, since synthetic melatonin is not approved by the FDA.
We must also know that using electronic devices before going to sleep reduces the amount of light they produce and prevents us from resting. The blue light they emit inhibits their production, creates alert effects and throws off the biological clock.
Similarly, drinking coffee a couple of hours before bedtime may be detrimental. Caffeine’s effects include sleep disruption and increased wakefulness; it delays the circadian rhythm by about 40 minutes, notes an article in Science Translational Medicine .
We must bear in mind that not only humans produce this hormone, but it is also present in some plants. And there are foods rich in melatonin; for example, a study shared by the magazine Nutrients points out the following:
- Grapes
- Pineapples
- Oatmeal
- Walnuts
- Eggs
- Bananas
- Oranges
- Fish
- Black rice
Melatonin promotes well-being
Higher levels of melatonin contribute to mental well-being . However, as we age, levels of this hormone decrease in the body, which leads to us having more difficulty resting.
It is clear that the benefits of melatonin go far beyond improving the quality of our sleep, as it influences our mood, whether we feel anxious or depressed. Did you know all these qualities of the “sleep hormone”?