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What is Melatonin?
Melatonin is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland at night.
What does it do?
Melatonin is most commonly associated with sleep. It is often used as a sleep aid and to reset the internal clock for people with jet lag or odd work shifts. It also seems to regulate self-repair and regulation of cells and is sometimes recommended as an anti-aging supplement. With age the body’s natural production of melatonin is reduced and therefore supplementation to raise the levels of melatonin to youthful levels is believed desirable. It acts as an anti-oxidant by scavenging hydroxyl and peroxyl free radicals. There is controversy about the benefits of melatonin supplementation but there is little evidence that taking melatonin as a supplement will damage your health even at high doses.
What is the dosage?
Recent research has documented the effectiveness of melatonin as a sleep aid and has determined that the most effective dose is .3 milligrams. Typical dosage for melatonin when purchased as a supplement is 3 milligrams and the research suggests that the higher doses are less effective as a sleep aid. If melatonin does act as an anti-aging supplement then the higher doses may be justified. The dosage I use is 10 milligrams. At that dosage I have no trouble falling asleep but am not troubled by drowsiness during the day. I don’t take it as a sleep aid and basically I find that it doesn’t affect my level of attention at all.
What are the side effects?
No serious side effects are documented. It may cause possible slower reaction times or daytime drowsiness. High doses may cause hypothermia (low body temperature). I don’t notice any effects from taking melatonin.
What do I think?
Because melatonin is such a powerful antioxidant and there is evidence that the body produces less melatonin with aging, I include melatonin as a daily supplement. I think that the possible benefits of having enough melatonin in my body are worthwhile since the risks of overdose are slight. It may not help but I believe that my body can use all the antioxidants it can get.
I have been taking melatonin since I began living alone and having sleep trouble and highly recommend it. I take 1mg, 2mg if I’m feeling especially alert when I go to bed. Anything over that leaves me with a headache the next morning.
I had no idea it was a supplement for anti-aging!
Katie,
I learned about melatonin and aging recently. There doesn’t seem to be a downside for it.
Yeah, no downside I can see either. Some people report less effectiveness if they take it for more than a week, but I find it quiets my mind and take it every night.
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