The Dark Side Of Melatonin - Does Melatonin Worsen Sleep?
Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland. It is
secreted when the eyes begin to perceive darkness so people have
directly linked it with sleep...
BUT, melatonin is one of the drugs (actually, it's a food
supplement) that the smart doctors NEVER recommend...
Let me tell you why:
Melatonin was discovered to whiten the skin of frogs. That
triggered a negative signal and even more shocking proof
appeared afterwards:
In small animals, melatonin can make the gonads atrophy
rendering them unable to reproduce.
There IS evidence that melatonin interferes with sexual
functions in human body as well, so it's probably pretty risky
for and fertility and procreation...
In some mammals, melatonin also whitens the fur (maybe a sign of
aging?) and/or promotes obesity... None of this seems like a
good thing to me...
Also, in a recent test, melatonin was administered to people
suffering from depression... The effects?
Depression got WORST and was accompanied by loss of sleep, loss
of weight and a drop in oral temperature... Studies also shown
that it increases cerebrospinal acids.
Melatonin causes headache and nightmares.
In animals, melatonin constricts brain blood vessels and affects
the arteries of the heart (and pressure).
If you wonder why people think melatonin is such a great idea,
you are not alone. So do I! It has been claimed that melatonin
is low among people with insomnia. This is arguable...
Modern studies show that there appears to be little or no
relationship at all...
It has also been claimed that melatonin is useful for treatment
of insomnia. In most studies, the sleep benefit is very weak or
completely absent.
Melatonin does not seem to induce sleep.
For example, in rats, melatonin is highest when the animals are
most alert. For the person whose sleep problem is awakening
during the night or awakening too early in the morning, there is
evidence that melatonin would do more harm than good.
Melatonin does have some effects on the body clock. There are
some studies which suggest that melatonin helps with jet lag or
night shift problems but the testing is still
insufficient...
Because melatonin is secreted when eyes being to perceive
darkness, Daniel F. Kripke, M.D. likes to joke and say:
"In my opinion, about the only application where benefits of
melatonin seem quite likely to outweigh risks is for the
completely blind person who may have lost his or her
eyeballs"
You guessed it. He doesn't recommend melatonin!