6 Melatonin Benefits

Promotes healthy, restorative sleep

Before you reach for sleeping pills or something that may leave you feeling sluggish the next day, you should give melatonin a try. Melatonin is not only useful in helping you get a sound, restful night of sleep, but it’s a hormone that is naturally produced by your body and is a healthier alternative to many other products. Furthermore, there’s mounting evidence that taking a melatonin supplement might help support a more natural circadian rhythm.

Great for heart health

When most people think about melatonin, they think of sleep, but it’s also great for heart health. As it turns out, melatonin delivers antioxidant support that supports the heart and may even help promote healthy blood sugar and cholesterol levels within the normal range.

Eases stress

Naturally, getting more sleep means your body and mind will be able to handle stress more effectively. However, melatonin helps you fight stress in more ways than helping you get a good night’s sleep. During the day, the stress hormone cortisol can increase the body’s production of melatonin, while decreasing it at night. By taking a melatonin supplement, you can offset cortisol’s adverse effects, which can help promote a healthy stress response.

Boosts bladder health

Various studies have shown that melatonin can boost your body’s ability to fight off bladder dysfunction. It does so by helping to regulate an oxidative stress-inducing compound known as malondialdehyde. In promoting decreased oxidative stress, melatonin helps to support the bladder’s ability to relax and limit bladder contractions.

Aids immune system function

The antioxidants found in melatonin go a long way toward helping your body as it fights off free radicals and bolsters the immune system. Research about further immune benefits caused by melatonin and the pineal gland are ongoing.

Helps regulate sleep after jet lag

World travel can dramatically alter your sleep schedule in the short term and melatonin can go a long way towards getting your sleep/wake cycle back on track.

Melatonin Food Sources

Aside from taking a supplement, many foods can give you a melatonin boost. Melatonin rich foods include bananas, tart cherries, grapes, pineapples, tomatoes, barley, oats, sweet corn, rice and nuts and seeds such as cashews, peanuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and flax seed.

Melatonin Dosage

There are a wide variety of melatonin supplements and melatonin pills on the market to choose from and they come in many different dosages. The melatonin dosage that provides the best results will vary by individual, but 0.3 to 5 mg of melatonin taken by healthy adults about 60 to 90 minutes before bedtime is a common melatonin dosage range.

Melatonin Side Effects

While melatonin is has few known side effects, there are some precautions to take note of. There are some reports of dizziness, upset stomach and headache in some limited studies, but evidence that these symptoms are the direct result of melatonin are lacking. Vivid dreams and occasional nightmares have also been reported by some who have taken melatonin. It is recommended that women who are pregnant or nursing not take melatonin.

More Information About Melatonin

How Much Melatonin Should You Really Be Taking?

Why Does Melatonin Matter for Healthy Aging?

Melatonin Safety What are the Side Effects?