Discussions with a pharmacist:
What is melatonin?
Research on it is becoming increasingly fascinating. It is a substance that, beyond its sleep-inducing effect, is a signaling molecule associated with the body's repair phases. All our cells produce melatonin. It is a molecule that we tend to produce less and less as we age. The more we have of it, the greater our repair capacity.
Melatonin plays a role in growth hormone. Growth hormone is the hormone that helps us grow. It is highly present in childhood and adolescence. After 40, melatonin has a fascinating effect. It slows down certain aging processes and maximizes the growth hormone peak that occurs at night while the body repairs itself. There are now clinical studies 1,2,3, among others, on osteoporosis, showing that regular melatonin intake increases the bone rebuilding phase compared to the destruction phase. For bone health, it is becoming a useful tool, like vitamin D, vitamin K, magnesium, boron, and silica.
Can you become accustomed to it?
With melatonin, there is no feedback loop like there is, for example, with hormones. In the case of a hormone: the body secretes a hormone, receptors tell the body that it has produced enough, and it stops or reduces production. This is not the case with melatonin. Melatonin has cycles that are associated with circadian cycles, among other things, depending on light. For example, exposure to sunlight during the day increases melatonin production in the evening. We have no receptors telling our body that we have produced too much (unlike hormones). Thus, the idea that the body will become lazy in its melatonin production if we take it every day does not hold. On the contrary, supra-physiological doses (much higher than what we produce naturally) will stimulate repair mechanisms.
Is melatonin suitable for everyone?
There are two reaction patterns related to melatonin. People with the first reaction pattern feel nothing or experience better, deeper sleep and fall asleep more easily. People with the second pattern feel that they sleep poorly, that they have light sleep, and they may have nightmares. In that case, simply do not take melatonin. However, there is no danger, there is no known toxicity and no habituation.
Should a larger person take more melatonin? In fact, there is a dose-response concept that is highly individual. A larger person might respond to 1 mg, while a frail woman might respond to 10 mg.
Melatonin and children
For a child who does not sleep, it is the least bad of solutions since melatonin is safe. The problem with melatonin is not the substance itself, but giving a pill to a child and thus creating a reflex that is difficult to break, this dependence on a pill. However, for some children, the answer to sleep problems will be melatonin, especially for a child with ADHD.
In conclusion
What does melatonin do? First of all, melatonin is not a good sleep aid. It does not make you sleep, but facilitates sleep, facilitates entry into theta waves (deep sleep waves), and helps synchronize the phases of recovery and repair sleep. We do not sleep for nothing! The hypotheses are that sleep helps repair the body and consolidate memory engrams. Melatonin acts there.
References:
1.Cardinali DP, Ladizesky MG, Boggio V, et al. Melatonin effects on bone: experimental facts and clinical perspectives. J Pineal Res. 2003. Mar;34(2):81-7. Review. PubMed PMID: 12562498. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12562498
2.Tresguerres IF, Tamimi F, Eimar H, et al. Melatonin dietary supplement as an anti-aging therapy for age-related bone loss. Rejuvenation Res. 2014 Aug;17(4):341-6. doi: 10.1089/rej.2013.1542. PubMed PMID: 24617902. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24617902
3.Amstrup AK, Sikjaer T, Heickendorff L, Mosekilde L, Rejnmark L. Melatonin improves bone mineral density at the femoral neck in postmenopausal women with osteopenia: a randomized controlled trial. J Pineal Res. 2015 Sep;59(2):221-9. doi: 10.1111/jpi.12252. PubMed PMID: 26036434. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26036434
Maison Jacynthe disclaims all liability. All the information contained on this page is not intended to substitute a justified allopathic treatment or to disregard the expertise of the medical community. It is up to each individual to take charge of their health, to inform themselves, and to make the necessary changes to improve their condition. Therapeutic supervision by a qualified professional in the health field is obviously suggested.
Leave a comment