Archive for September, 2009
Melatonin Can Help With Sleeping, Memory, And More
September 18th, 2009 | 
Author:
Melatonin is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland in the brain that helps regulate other hormones and maintains the body’s circadian rhythm. This hormone also helps control the timing and release of female reproductive hormones. Melatonin has been shown to stimulate cells called osteo-blasts that promote bone growth which may be good for women in menopause.
Research shows that after melatonin is administered to ADHD patients; the time needed to fall asleep is significantly reduced and this suggests that quick-release melatonin may be more effective than sustained-release formulations for sleep related conditions. Researchers believe that melatonin levels diminish as we age. They also theorize that you may be able to help the process along by taking a melatonin supplement at times when it would be released naturally according to your new time zone or work schedule, although this can vary from person to person and from day to day.
It is reported that this hormone could reset the body’s aging clock, turning back the ravages of time. Research on melatonin continues, and with it, knowledge is increasing about the functions of melatonin in the body and the effects of melatonin supplementation.
Insomnia is a sleep disorder characterized by an inability to sleep or to remain asleep for a reasonable period during the night. Insomnia is one of the most common sleep disorders affecting Americans today. Low levels of melatonin in humans have been associated with insomnia and may aid in reversing this sleep disorder. Several human studies report that melatonin taken by mouth before bedtime decreases the amount of time it takes to fall asleep in elderly individuals with insomnia.
The first published evidence that melatonin may be useful in Alzheimer’s disease was the demonstration that this neuro-hormone prevents neuronal death caused by exposure to the amyloid beta protein, a neurotoxin substance that accumulates in the brains of patients with the disorder. This hormone may aid in slowing the aging process as well.
Aging is a complex physiological process that involves a number of biochemical reactions, with molecular changes that are manifested in single cells a by product of day to day operation. Aging is associated with a decline in immune function also affecting the innate immune system. Aging is characterized by disorganization of circadian rhythms caused in part by the progressive decline in the activity of the pineal gland leading ultimately to pineal failure.
Many researchers believe that melatonin levels are related to the aging process. Does melatonin have any effect on aging? Low dose melatonin treatment in mice enhances the body’s natural antioxidant system, and this may have anti-aging properties. Researchers believe there is a link between antioxidants and aging. The decline in the production of a number of hormones associated with aging such as growth hormone (GH), estrogen and DHEA, as well as of the pineal substance melatonin, have been proposed to play a significant role in contributing to the decline of ones immune system and accelerated aging.
Furthermore, melatonin has been studied for the treatment of cancer, immune disorders, cardiovascular diseases, depression, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), circadian rhythm sleep disorders and other dysfunction. Melatonin has been shown to be effective in treating one form of depression, seasonal affective disorder, and is being considered for bipolar and other disorders where circadian disturbances are involved. It is critical to have normal melatonin levels through out ones life.
Anybody can purchase melatonin because it is available without prescription in most cases in the United States and Canada, while it is available only by prescription or not at all in some other countries. Melatonin appears to cause very few side effects in the short term, up to three months, when healthy people take it at low doses.
In conclusion, low doses of melatonin can benefit one greatly not only from better sleep but possibly living long from its antioxidant properties it exhibits. Don’t forget that melatonin should be used with caution in people with depression and should be appropriately timed if one is undergoing light therapy. Have you had your melatonin lately?
Darrell Miller
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/melatonin-can-help-with-sleeping-memory-and-more-711345.html
Posted in 
Remedy Insomnia the Natural Way
Alternative treatments have been efficient in providing solutions for insomnia and its causes. People suffering from insomnia turn to herbal remedies. Some prefer lemon balm and chamomile tea. These are alright because they have proven to be quite harmless. But for medical establishments, they should label these medicines as ‘herbal’ and natural. However, some natural and herbal remedies contain conventional medicines.
Some the herbal medications taken for insomnia include valerian, melatonin and kava, but there insifficient evidence from research to recommend them. A recent study that has been conducted by the University of Alberta shows that melatonin is not as effective as most people think it to be. Researchers have analyzed the studies that involved around 500 people with various sleeping programs like medication, shift work, jet lag and medication. They found no clear evidence that melatonin has a special role to play for people falling asleep faster.
What is recommended though are the relaxation techniques an insomniac can turn to. These have been proven to be the most effective. These activities require at least 20 minutes before bedtime.
Here are some examples:
1. Visualization entails a relaxing scene in your head. Try this before actually falling asleep. Think of how it will be like if you really are in the place you are visualizing yourself to be. The more vivid you visualize the place, the more involved your senses will be.
2. Yoga combines meditation, stretching and deep breathing. Daily yoga for eight weeks can already improve total sleeping time as well as the time needed to fall to sleep.
The traditional cures of insomnia are drinking warm milk before sleeping, taking a warm shower at night, engaging in vigorous exercise for an hour and a half at noon, eating large lunch followed by light dinner three hours before bedtime and avoiding mentally stimulating activities at night.
People with insomnia are also encouraged to get up early in the morning and sleep at a reasonable hour in the evening so that their sleeping habits will improve.
We highly recommend you consider our self-help hypnosis MP3’s and CD’s which have proven effective for many people. A medication-less life can only be better for your body, and if you believe in yourself and your own abilities you will find our self-help hypnosis programs of immense benefit.
Nathalie Fiset
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/remedy-insomnia-the-natural-way-133448.html
What are the chances of having nightmares with melatonin?
I’ve been having sleeping problems for a while now, and my doctor suggested melatonin. I took it for the first time tonight in hopes of getting a better sleep. I looked up side effects, and it said that there were some cases of nightmares.
Does anyone know any information at all about whether or not there is a certain "type" of person (such as females, the elderly, children, etc.) that get this side effect, or if it’s just randomized in everyone?
Thanks.
I have sleep troubles and for me, personally… never felt rested from sleep until I took melatonin. It was an absolute godsend! Everyone can be different though, so give things a chance before you start thinking trouble right out of the gate. Also, please test out the drug being taken at a time the doctor recommends and if after 2 days or so you find you are having nightmares, try taking it 45 minutes earlier or later , or simply use increments of 45 min blocks of time (as in 45 minutes, 1 1/2 hrs, 2 1/4 hrs, etc) as this is how sleep cycles are "timed". If your melatonin wears off when you are in a deep sleep cycle because you mis-timed your dosage, you might feel sluggish, stressed or grumpy or have had very vivid or scary dreams. If you shift the medicine dose an extra 45 minutes ahead, you might hit a time of light, wakeful sleep and feel very refreshed. So, I guess what I am trying to say is do not be afraid to fiddle with the time to suit your body rhythms. You do not want to give up quickly.
Keywording "sleep cycles" as well as "minimizing melatonin side effects" will bring up some good reading for you to find out more online.
Hope this is clear and has helped, if not email me and I’ll try to clarify, ok? Good luck!
*Edit* btw, I do not know that the side effect is for any specific group, but I highly doubt it! Probably people that didn’t understand what I just told you about timing and sleep cycles.
Whats the difference between melatonin and tryptophan?
I know that tryptophan is the precursor for melatonin, but what does that mean? Can someone put it into simpler terms for me please.
Tryptophan is an essential amino acid (you must obtain it through your diet.) Like you pointed out, it is a precursor to melatonin. "Precursor" implies that something comes before something else, right? In this sense, tryptophan comes before melatonin when your body makes melatonin.
Look at it this way. In chemistry, you take some chemicals, mix them together, and you get new chemicals. In the same way, your body does a series of chemical reactions that start with tryptophan and end with melatonin. (In the body, chemical reactions are mediated by enzymes.)
If you make a door, you start with a tree. Then you cut down the tree to make a log. From the log, you cut out a piece of wood roughly in the shape of the door. You sand it down to make it nice. Add a doorknob and some hinges, and you have a door. The door represents melatonin, and the tree is the same thing as tryptophan.
Here is how tryptohan eventually becomes melatonin… I have also included the enzymes that achieve this:
Tryptophan is converted to 5-hydroxyltryptophan by the enzyme Tryptophan Oxidase.
Aromatic Amino Acid Decarboxylase takes 5-hydroxyltryptophan and makes seratonin (as in SSRI medications for depression.)
Seratonin is converted into N-acetyl-5-hydroxytryptamine by the enzyme N-Acetyltransferase.
Finally, N-acetyl-5-hydroxytryptamine is taken to melatonin by the action of the enzyme O-Methyltransferase.
Tryptophan is an important precursor to many, many different kinds of compounds in the body. Like I said, it can make seratonin. Receptors that bind this also bind drugs like mescaline, MDMA, and DMT.
Melatonin is involved in estrus control (AKA the menstrual cycle.) It is also thought to be involved in the natural mediation of sleep. Melatonin affects the circadian rhythm and is potentially a weak sedative-hypnotic.
I hope this clarifies the issue.