Melatonin as a sleep wizard: Benefits and 3 cases where it can be a significant helper especially for women
Awareness of melatonin has expanded significantly in recent years. However, this is not due to advertising campaigns, but rather still a huge sleep problem that afflicts many people. Melatonium is the nutritional supplement that is associated with better and better sleep. Before we get melatonin, I would recommend starting by clicking on this link, where you will see some of our posts, including a podcast, on sleep, sleep hygiene, better sleep and all these things that bother many people. If you've really done everything to get a better night's sleep, maybe it's time to put an eye on melatonin.
This is the so-called sleep hormone, or in other words, it is a neurohormone secreted by the pineal gland in the brain that is responsible for regulating sleep. If we talk about its supplementation, it works like a classic, natural melatonin in the body, so supplementation will support sleep and sleep itself.
However, it is not only a sleep wizard, it also has neuroprotective effects and it is also a solid antioxidant. According to some data, it may even have an anti-cancer effect. It can affect the rhythms of reproductive hormones by controlling GnRH, which ultimately regulates estrogen and testosterone levels. It also affects body temperature, blood pressure, cardiovascular regulation, the immune system and also acts as a scavenger of free radicals.
Melatonin works basically the same for both sexes, but there are three specific situations for women, according to Lyle McDonadl, where melatonin has additional benefits for women.
PMS / PMDD
PMS is a well-known term. PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder) is something like PMS on steroids. A more serious "form of PMS", which is associated with extreme irritability, depression, anxiety.
In addition to all the negatives, which, if you know a woman, you probably have a disorder of sleep patterns in PMS / PMDD. In addition, women with PMDD perceive light even more, so their natural melatonin curves may be adversely affected. To make matters worse, women with PMDD show a reduced response to melatonin release, which affects their normal circadian rhythm. After all, they may feel as if they haven't even slept in the morning. And a little worse. Lyle McDonald says that while there is no direct research addressing the effect of melatonin supplementation on sleep and PMS negatives, he argues that supplementation will definitely not hurt, quite the contrary. If we combine this with all the data on the impact of PMS / PMDD on women, we can safely sign that you will not pay anything to try. That is, in addition to money for melatonin in tablets.
PCOS
If you have no idea what PCOS is, we have a great article for you. In women with PCOS, sleep is impaired, but according to the data, these may not be explicitly related to melatonin-related factors. Just for fun, higher melatonin levels are associated with higher testosterone levels - there is a correlation between increased melatonimus and increased TST, but not causality.
There are data to suggest that melatonin supplementation in women with PCOS may be beneficial. Three years ago, they studied women with PCOS who supplemented with 2 mg of melatonin daily for half a year. In 95% of women, the menstrual cycle improved. However, for the sake of objectivity, it should be added that it was a small sample and no placebo group was used. In last year's study, women with PCOS supplemented with 5 mg of melatonin twice a day, and women had a decrease in hisutism (excessive facial hair), total TST, c-reactive protein (inflammatory parameter), and increased natural oxidants in the body. Finally, we mention the analysis of fifteen human and seven animal studies. Melatonin supplementation in women with PCOS has been shown to improve egg (and embryo pregnancy) quality, reduce obesity, inflammation, and help reduce insulin resistance.
MENOPAUSE
If men are also educated by this article, then menopause is a period in a woman's life in which the reproductive organs essentially cease to function. This happens during the time when women approach menopause and go through this process. During this period, ovulation occurs less frequently until it stops completely, when estrogen and progesterone are not produced during the menstrual cycle. This may include a decrease in estrogen levels, an increase in body fat and weight, or an increased risk of heart disease and a loss of bone mass.
Well, it's no secret that menopausal women often have poor sleep. These can be problems with falling asleep, waking up at night, or hot flashes, and even, according to Lyle McDonald, it is thought that due to the role of melatonin in controlling reproductive hormones, changes in melatonin levels may play a direct role in menopause. We also have research here that melatonin supplementation in menopausal women can help improve sleep.
As we indicated at the beginning of this section, menopause is not just about sleep. Studies show that supplementation (3 mg melatonin for three months) can reduce the climacteric problems (hot flushes, more sweating, irritation, sometimes dizziness, etc.) that occur during menopause. Another study with the same dose, but for up to 6 months, showed a reduction in depression, an improvement in mood, an increase in thyroid hormones (thyroid and gonadal functions decrease during aging) and an improvement in GnRH (gonadotropin-releasing hormone - gonadotropins affect eggs ).
Melatonin dosing
The minimum effective dose is 3 mcg to 1 mg. However, some people need more and the typical maximum dose is 5 mg. However, you need to start gradually, it is possible that you need much less. The important fact is that more grams of melatonin does not mean better sleep. Take it 30-60 minutes before you go to bed.
Are you interested in the benefits of melatonin, but you have basically no problems with sleep? Wondering if it can disrupt your natural melatonin levels and unnecessarily jeopardize your own production over time? There is no study to confirm this. Supplementation does not affect its natural production in the body.
Melatonin seems to carry very nice data, especially for women, and when we discover other interesting studies addressing a specific issue related to melatonin, we will shed light on them in our Premium section. If you have trouble sleeping and have really, really read the first paragraph of this article, it is worth a try. We would recommend a combination with zinc and magnesium, which also have a positive effect on sleep.
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