Insomnia Treatment

Stress, Sleep, Melatonin and Essential Oils

Essential Oils Promote sleep
Stress leads to a lack of sleep, irritability, impatience and a very short temper in many cases. The link between stress and lack of sleep is now medically accepted – almost unquestionable – and so those of us who do feel severe stress from the impacts of jobs we hate, bosses who grind us down, insensitive spouses, uncontrollable children and maybe worst of all, money problems, need to think clearly about the impact on our lives and what we can DO to make things better.

Lack of sleep can result in generally impaired performance socially and at work which can drive us into a death-spiral of ever diminishing capacity to cope, worsening performance and further stress…we’ve GOT to break that cycle.

A recent meta-analysis of more than a dozen European cohort studies reported that job strain is extremely common, with prevalence rates of 13% to 22%.2 Clearly articulated theoretical models and measurement tools, combined with existing longitudinal cohort studies, have contributed to a wealth of data on the causes and consequences of job strain.

The journal SLEEP showed a reciprocal association between job strain and sleep over a two-year period. I quote:

The reciprocal link between work demands and disturbed sleep described by Åkerstedt and colleagues highlight the inextricable nature of the stress-sleep relationship. While observational and experimental studies suggest that psychological stress can disrupt sleep, an emerging literature suggests that disturbed sleep may also contribute to psychological stress. For example, short sleep duration and experimental sleep deprivation have both been associated with emotion dysregulation and increased physiological reactivity to stress. In early theoretical work that has received strong empirical support in the ensuing decades, Arthur Spielman identified reactivity to stress as a key individual difference in vulnerability to insomnia.”

Some people recommend strong drugs for this, and I will never go against the word of a qualified medical professional – I can’t afford the insurance! However, even medical professionals do generally accept the need to avoid strong drugs except as a last resort. This site is all about natural relaxation using Essential Oils, Massage and other natural therapies, but there is one site (it’s one of mine), called Insomniactive that has a whole range of tips on the sue of the natural substance melatonin as a gentle aid to sleep. Taking melatonin isn’t as pleasant and relaxing as aromatherapy, but it does help you to sleep!

Essential Oils to Break the Cycle

Essential Oils are known to provide significant health benefits, used within aromatherapy, massage and even in food (caution!!!). In the area of sleep, I suggest that whilst simply becoming less tense and stressed can help greatly, and Essential Oils are well-known stress-breakers!

Lavender Essential Oil for Stress and Sleep

Researchers have concluded that conclude Lavender essential oil can aid in achieving significantly improved sleep, relief from anxiety and sometimes Lavender can have a pronounced antidepressant effect.

The most active ingredients in lavender are Linalool and Linalyl Acetate. Lavender oil both diffused and applied to the skin is absorbed in the bloodstream. Although it seems that it will work even if you don’t smell it (and it would be hard not to!), I personally think that the beautiful odor is a big part of any treatment, and maybe the most important psychological component.

According to Robert Tisserand in “Essential Oil Safety”, oral ingestion of an essential oil increases absorption by about 10 times compared to topical application. He notes that lavender is non-toxic and non-sensitizing.

Summarising, we should note that:-

Lavender essential oil is safe for ingestion up to 160mg/day ~ about 4 drops – BUT check with a medically qualified person before ingesting anything!
Lavender essential oil can  significantly improve sleep quality.
Lavender can be effective as an anti-depressant

So there it is!

One more thing – if you’re going to try essential oils, do try the Mystical Breath Diffuser – it’s brilliant!

 

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Insomnia Treatment

Melatonin FAQs – And How to Use Melatonin

Day and Night - Circadian Rhythms and how to use melatonin as a corrector

Melatonin is a complex substance with complex, indirect effects. It is therefore very important to know how to use melatonin and not merely to take the pills and hope for the best! This article focuses on some of they key common questions about how melatonin works, what is the circadian rhythm (day/night cycles) when we should take it, how much we need and what are the alternatives.

FAQ 1: Do I Need to Take Melatonin Indefinitely?


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Medical practitioners in general do not recommend taking Melatonin for more than fourteen days continuously. Melatonin merely reinforces the signals the body receives telling it that it’s ‘time to sleep’. If you take it continuously, then you may be masking a deeper problem that should be discussed with your doctor.

FAQ2: Can Melatonin Harm Me?


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Taking too much Melatonin and taking it at the wrong time of the day can cause serious health risks. For instance, taking melatonin during the day has been known to cause depression. Daytime melatonin has been shown to cause depression. The reasons for this are complex, but essentially they are rooted in the body’s need not to receive conflicting signals.

In the day, you are active and busy and yet a dose or melatonin will tell your body to sleep, which is in conflict with your daytime needs. Depression is sometimes the outcome of this conflict.

FAQ3: Is Melatonin a Sleep Hormone?

This is a tricky question, because melatonin is intimately bound up with our body’s interpretation the sleep signals it receives. But melatonin by itself will not make you sleep – it merely forewarns your body that ‘night-time’ is imminent and that it should prepare to wind down and sleep.

This is why it is so effective when taken in the evening – the melatonin has prepared your body for natural sleep. It’s much the same effect with jet lag – the melatonin effectively shifts your body to an earlier or later time by signalling ‘time to sleep’.

FAQ4: Can I Take Melatonin At Any Time?

No! If melatonin is used during the day, it may cause bad side-effects because your body then receives conflicting signals from the melatonin and from the natural environment. This can even cause a disruption of your natural sleep cycle and make things worse for you if you are suffering from insomnia.

FAQ5: How Do I Know Melatonin is For Me?

Most sleep deprivation problems do not arise from melatonin deficiency, and so increasing the amount in your body may mask the root cause of your problem. However, the sleep melatonin gives you may also break a vicious cycle of sleepless nights and daytime exhaustion and restore your normal sleep patterns – just don’t keep taking it for weeks and weeks!

If you do really need melatonin to help you sleep, you may be experiencing a disruption of your Circadian Rhythm, which can make your body produce melatonin at the wrong time of day (production varies through he day and normally peaks at night), so that when you need to sleep, you don’t have enough melatonin in your system at the time you need to sleep. This may mean that you need light therapy, on which subject I will be writing another article.

FAQ6: How Critical is Melatonin Dosage?

In general, the supplement pills available on the market (including Meratrol, which we advertise here), average three to five milligrams per pill. Recent research has shown statistically that we can get by with much less than this. So a good idea is that if melatonin works for you, start cutting the pills in half and then a quarter to see if they still work.

You cannot do this with TIME – RELEASE – MELATONIN – as the time release mechanism will be disabled.

FAQ7: How Important is the Body’s Natural Melatonin?

It’s CRITICALLY IMPORTANT. As several articles on this site reveal, melatonin is a powerful anti-oxidant that neutralizes damaging free radicals in your body. It reduces the risks of high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and even cancer. Melatonin is one of nature’s wonder-drugs!

That’s why, when we do night shifts and fly across the world, reducing the body’s production of melatonin at critical times, we significantly increase the risks of some types of cancer. Sustained behaviour and lifestyles of this type can cause significant health risks. So yes – melatonin is important – very, very important to our wellbeing.

FAQ8: How Long Does Melatonin Remain Active in My Body?

Melatonin, in the prescribed doses, is active in your body for approximately fifteen to twenty five minutes. So it is important to take the right dose at the right time!

How To Use Melatonin

  • If you take more than an hour to fall asleep, you might consider time-released melatonin.
  • Depending on the severity of your insomnia, you might try time-released melatonin one to three hours before the time at which you want to fall asleep. If this is still not adequate, you might try taking another pill three or four hours after the first one.
  • Remember – sleep in the DARK – light prevents your body producing melatonin and you do not need this, even if you are taking a supplement.

Interrupted Sleep

If you are waking up in the night, consider taking sublingual melatonin (a pill that dissolves under the tongue). This pill is designed in such a way that the melatonin is released straight into the blood stream and not through your digestive system.


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Melatrol – A Tried and Trusted Melatonin Sleep Aid

Melatrol takes its name from Melatonin, which is a natural substance that is manufactured by the Pineal Gland in your brain. It is the substance that makes you feel sleepy and which facilitates smooth, natural, peaceful sleep. Melatonin is a key ingredient of Melatrol, but this trusted and proven sleep supplement has other complimentary ingredients that we will examine in this article. First though, we will answer a few basic questions.

Is Melatrol Safe for Children?


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Again, the answer is YES – but with professional care and guidance! We have a whole article on Melatonin For Children HERE. of course, you should consult with your medical professional when giving your children anything, but to help you, here is a word from qualified medical professional:

“Judith Owens, director of sleep medicine at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, has studied melatonin and children. She said that the supplement appears to have a good safety record, not only with special needs children but with healthy children as well, when used for short periods with a pediatrician’s oversight.”

Quoted from the Wall Street Journal

Melatrol Ingredients

Each of the ingredients of Melatrol is described below with references you can click on to check the sources of my information:

5-HTP and Serotonin

5-HTP is what scientists call a “precursor” to serotonin, which means that in the body it ‘comes before’ serotonin – we make 5-HTP so that we can make serotonin, which is essential to many processes in the body, including the manufacture of melatonin. So this ingredient of Melatrol helps your body to make melatonin which in turn helps you to sleep.

This is particularly important for the elderly, because as we age, our natural production of melatonin reduces and so our bodies need a little helping hand.

The 5-HTP in Melatrol is extracted from the seeds of the Griffonia tree. 5-HTP is generally not noticed, but in some cases it can cause mild nausea which almost always disappears very quickly. However, if this persists, you should ask your doctor.

Melatonin

Melatonin is produces by your body – but not continuously. production of this hormone is actually stimulated by Darkness triggers production of the hormone, which is why we find it so hard to sleep in bright light. There are many articles on this site about melatonin and you can see many of them in the sidebar.

Melatonin Produced by Food Plants

Melatonin is produced in many places in nature apart from the human pineal gland (in the brain). For instance, it can also be made by bone marrow cells, the retina in the eye, and the gut. It is also produced in some plants such as rice, which partly explains why you can feel so sleepy after food – the melatonin you have ingested makes its way to your brain and makes you feel drowsy.

An Anti-Aging Anti-Oxidant

In addition to helping you sleep, melatonin is an antioxidant. It helps protect DNA, protects the brain, and may play a role in increasing longevity. It does this by preventing damage to body cells, which it achieves by neutralizing free radicals.

Melatonin has been tested with some success for the alleviation of radiation damage, Alzheimer’s disease, inflammatory disease and many other ailments. It may well turn out to be one of nature’s ‘wonder treatments’ and research is still continuing.

Safety

Melatonin is safe for the human body even when taken over a period of time. However, like all supplements, caution is advised against taking more than directed. High doses can cause complications.

Valerian Root

Valerian herb for sleep supplements

Valerian is a perennial flowering plant that has been used for more than two thousand years across the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome as a relaxant and sleep supplement. Only the lower part of the plant is used – the roots and stem.

The flowers of the Valerian plant smell sweet and can perfume your whole garden area. The dried root has a pungent, smell somewhat like dirty socks! The root is often suggested by herbalists to treat anxiety, nervousness and lack of sleep.

Gamma Amino Butyric Acid – GABA

This melatrol ingredient is an amino acid that functions as a neurotransmitter to prevent neurons from over-reacting to stimuli. The main effect is the reduction of stress and anxiety.

Rhodiola Rosea Extract

Roseroot

Rhodiola Rosea, which is commonly known as “golden root” or “roseroot”, grows in mountainous zones from Iceland through to Siberia. It was named for the sweet smell of its freshly cut root and not for its blossom.

Roseroot is known to be a powerful adaptogen, which is a natural herbal product that stimulates the body’s natural resistance to stress and anxiety. This is very important, as stress and worry are major factors in some people who experience severe insomnia.

Passion Flower

Passion Flower

The Passion Flower is actually a vine which can climb to 30 feet. In season, it is wreathed in flowers of purple and white. Passion flower is another plant used by herbalists and healers for centuries to treat insomnia and even hysteria. It is also recommended for tension and nervousness.

Conclusions on Melatrol Claims as a Melatonin Sleep Aid

Melatrol is made from melatonin and other natural ingredients that combine to provide a natural and safe melatonin sleep aid that can help children adults and even pets.

Many of the ingredients in Melatrol have been used for centuries by natural healers and herbalists and their value as relaxants and stress relievers have been proven by modern science. Melatrol is a superb choice of natural melatonin sleep aid.


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Melatonin Side Effects Can Keep You Young

Melatonin side effects can keep you young

Of all the uses I thought I’d discover for melatonin, (which is a very popular, natural sleep medication) anti-aging wasn’t on my list or anywhere in my mind. And yet, it’s true, this simple natural substance that is produced in the pineal gland in your head neutralizes the most damaging free radical, called the hydroxyl radical.


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This was first discovered in 1992 by Russel J. Reiter, PhD, professor of cellular and structural biology, whose team produced evidence that melatonin is five times more effective than other well known free radical neutralizers such as gluthatione. I have placed web references for these terms later in this article.

Free Radicals, Cancer and Aging

Oxidative Damage

There is a theory of aging that says that we age (as all biological matter decays) over time because free radicals damage our sells and DNA, which then produces less perfect replacement cells in succession. The damage that free radicals to to tissue is called oxidative damage, and it is responsible for aging through the addition of oxygen to sensitive organic tissue molecules, thus ‘oxidising’ them.

Melatonin Neutralizes Free Radicals

Oxygen, which we need to live, is a highly reactive gas and is responsible for such reactions as we see in the rusting of iron and the combustion of materials we use for heating. Melatonin neutralizes the free radicals that cause this ‘biological combustion’ in our bodies, but as we age, we produce less and less of it, which is thought to contribute to acceleration of the aging process.

Melatonin, Cancer and Reduced Radiation Damage

Reduced Radiation Damage

Melatonin was shown (also by Dr. Reiter) to reduce the damage done to our cells by radiation from X-Rays. In a well known experiment, Reiter exposed two groups to X Rays and measured the damage to white blood cells. One was treated with melatonin and the other with DMSO, dimethyl sulfoxide, a well known protector against such radiation. Both groups showed 70% reduced damage, but the melatonin dose was 500 times less than the DMSO dose – which is utterly remarkable!

Reduced Cancer Susceptability

In an other experiment, rats were given high doses of a cancer inducing substance called safrole, and one of the groups of rats was also given melatonin. Remarkably, the rats that were given melatonin suffered  between 41% to 99% percent less damage to their DNA than those that were not given melatonin.

Results compared to gluthatione were even better. Melatonin is starting to look like a wonder-drug!

Melatonin Alzhemers and Parkinsons’s Disease

Melatonin is produced cyclically, and at night, there is ten to fifteen times as much of it in our bodies as there is during the day, which is what makes us drowsy and allows us to get the sleep we need.

It is thought that the reduction of melatonin levels in our bodies leaves us much more susceptible to developing Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease as we age, because of the reduced protection against free radicals, which are associated with both diseases. Here’s one remarkable claim:

“Specifically, melatonin can help delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and help protect vital cellular structures, such as mitochondria, from oxidative damage and decay.80 Declines in mitochondrial function are a hallmark feature of many neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Huntington’s disease.”

LEF.ORG Magazine

Melatonin and Obesity

Firstly, as far as I know, no clinical trial results have yet been released for melatonin as an obesity treatment. However, preclinical trials have been undertaken in the US, and results so far are encouraging. So how do we think that melatonin might help with obesity? Could weight loss be another of so many melatonin side effects and benefits? Here’s another quote from a reliable source:

“In middle-aged rodents, daily melatonin administration was found to suppress abdominal fat, plasma leptin levels, and insulin levels, while also reducing body weight and food intake.96,97 Other researchers reported that melatonin was associated with decreased intra-abdominal fat, decreased plasma insulin and leptin levels, and the absence of age-related weight gain”

LEF.ORG Magazine

Further studies have shown that melatonin activates brown fat tissue (brown adipose tissue – but I never use the word adipose ever since a Dr Who episode had the fat in our bodies turning into little people! yuck!), which then causes our bodies to start burning fat instead of storing it. I would be cautious about this claim though, because I never saw significant weight loss without at least some exercise to burn off the fat.

Conclusions on Melatonin Side Effects

Melatonin is produced by our bodies in the pineal gland and is thus a safe substance when used at specified dosage. Although used primarily as a sleep aid, it has been found to provide significant protection against free radicals which are thought to be one of the underlying causes of accelerated aging and our susceptibility to degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Melatonin is also thought to provide benefits in our fight against cancer, obesity and many other common ailments, many of which arise as a consequence of aging and increased life-span.  There are many sources available for you to read in detail about these claims for melatonin, but I do suggest that you should always consult a qualified specialist before placing any faith in on-line articles. Our knowledge grows and changes daily!

Where can I buy Melatonin

You need a high quality US Manufactured product at the best price. My choice is Melatrol and right now there’s a limited time offer to make it even more affordable for you.



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Melatonin Benefits – More than A Sleep Med?

melatonin is good for some things but not for othersMelatonin based products like Melatrol are used to treat a range of conditions and not just sleep disorders. Some of these will surprise you, but you will also not be surprised that the benefits of melatonin are often exaggerated and claims are made for the substance which are not backed by solid scientific evidence.


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In fact, some of the claims made are downright wrong and have been disproved by medical science. Then of course, there are a range of conditions for which melatonin has been tried with mixed results. This is sometimes because taking melatonin induces a placebo effect, something which to my mind at least is still poorly understood by science.

So here’s a roundup of melatonin benefits, showing up which ones do and don’t work as well as the ‘we don’t yet know’ category. I hope it’s useful to you. I have collected this material from a  wide variety of reputable e-sources and done my best to ensure its integrity, but remember – always check with your doctor and do not assume everything you read on the web is true – especially in the critical and dangerous area of medication. So use this as a first guide and then get expert help.

Classification

Each of the conditions I describe here is accompanied by an image that states clearly that the claims made for melatonin in that case are either:

  • red for no evidence or disproven
  • green for solid medical evidence supporting the claim
  • yellow which means that there is some proof but more is needed

 Treating Delayed Sleep Syndrome

melatonin benefits -delayed sleep syndrome - proven

This one’s pretty obvious – it means that you can’t get to sleep for a long time. probably only when you are so exhausted your body has no choice. There’s solid evidence that a melatonin supplement can help with this safely and effectively.

That’s not to say that some people don’t dispute this – remember what I said about the placebo effect above – but melatonin IS found in the body and its effect on sleeplessness and the variation of the amount in the body as a function of the circadian rhythm and light-dark conditions has been measured by scientists in controlled trials.

Treating Inflammatory Conditions

melatonin benefits does melatonin help with inflammation

The evidence for this is rather uncertain and the results of tests so far recorded are uncertain, yielding contradictory results. As such, I rather suspect, (as I usually do) that the placebo effect is playing a role. Much better controlled tests are required.

Treating Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

melatonin benefits - chronic fatigue syndrome

Not much research has been done into treating Chronic Fatigue Syndrome with Melatonin and much more needs to be done. The results so far indicate no significant effect at all.

Treating Jet Lag with Melatonin

melatonin for jet lag - proven

There is another entry on jet lag on this site. What I will say here is that several tests have shown strong indications that if you start taking a melatonin supplement the day you travel and keep taking it for a few days after, it significantly shortens the length of time it takes to get to sleep, reduces daytime fatigue and helps to restore normal sleep patterns quickly.

Treating Restless Leg Syndrome

Uncertain evidence that melatonin helps restless leg syndrome

The evidence for the efficacy for treating restless leg syndrome is inconclusive and more work is needed. Such evidence as their is suggests that it can affect the motor control symptoms that underlie this condition, but more work is needed.

Treating Child Insomnia

melatonin for child insomnia  proven

There is good, solid evidence that a Melatonin Supplement considerably alleviates child insomnia and adolescent insomnia. There seems to be a general consensus in this, but some medical researchers and practitioners think that more work is needed to verify the results thus far obtained.

Treating Adult and Elderly Insomnia

melatonin for elderly suffering insomnia  proven

Again, there is good scientific evidence that this natural substance helps to reduce the time required to get to sleep and deepen sleep thereafter. This is the main market for melatonin currently, and it seems to do a very good job.

Treating Depression

Uncertain evidence that melatonin helps with depression

Sleeping pills are often classified as ‘downers’ and agents of depression, particularly those in the barbiturate category (which are used less and less thank god!). Mealtonin as we know is a natural substance; it has been subjected to some small scale trials for treating depression (and does not cause it as far as I know), but the results are inconclusive.

Treating Smoking Withdrawal

Uncertain evidence that melatonin helps with smoking withdrawal

I found no evidence that Melatonin Pills can help with smoking withdrawal, beyond a few optimistic statements based on very small tests, always accompanied by the caveat that “more work is required”. But there is some evidence that this can help, so I’d try it – and probably get a better night’s sleep into the bargain!

Skin Damage from Sun Exposure

Uncertain evidence that melatonin helps with  sunburn

I was surprised that melatonin had been tested for this! Anyway, melatonin has shown thew capacity in s ome tests to reduce UV damage, but the results have not been conclusive.

Conclusions on Melatonin Benefits

I’ll be adding to the list of conditions for which melatonin has been tried as a treatment – I hope what’s here is a good start for you. In the meantime, I’ve just discovered that melatonin may be the best anti-aging substance we’ve ever discovered because of the way it deals with damaging free – radicals in the body. I’ll be doing an article on this very soon, so do please bookmark us and stop-by again soon.


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Melatonin For Jet Lag and With Alcohol – What you need to know

Melatonin Jet Lag and Alcohol

Have you been finding it difficult to sleep lately? Perhaps you recently took a flight into another time zone. If you did, you may have found this page by searching on Google for ‘Melatonin Jet Lag’ and you’ve come to the right place to learn about malatonin based products for dealing with jet lag.


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Flying may have thrown off your sleep pattern without you even realizing it. This is almost certainly caused by what we call jet lag. This condition can cause confusion – I once woke up in a hotel not remembering which country I was in during a ’round the world’ trip! When this happens, you know you are ‘out of synch’!

The Impact of Time-Zone Hopping

In day to day life, your body becomes accustomed to doing certain things at a certain time of day – eating, sleeping and exercising, and when you are in another time zone suddenly, your body still runs on the old clock, sends you to sleep in the morning, and makes you wide awake and hungry at 3am.

When you visit or relocate to a different time zone, your body’s natural rhythm may still identify with the time zone you are most familiar with, the one it has lived in for weeks, months or years.

If day time and night time in the two time zones drastically differs meaning they have a significant gap, your body really doesn’t know ‘what time’ it is for quite a while and gets hungry, thirsty and sleepy at the wrong times.

That’s why after a long air trip, it’s not uncommon to wake in the middle of the night feeling awake and refreshed – far too soon. People who are always on the go, flying throughout different time zones may have frequently suffer severe cases of jet lag. Some people try to treat their symptoms by ingesting alcohol. Others rely on remedies such as melatonin based products like Melatrol to improve their sleep patterns.

Alcohol Effects On Sleep

Alcohol is often sought to relieve jet lag symptoms, but the problem is that alcohol can act as a depressant in some people which means it induces restless, unnatural sleep and often anxiety in them.

In contrast, it is a stimulant for others which means it gets their adrenaline flowing and this is not an ideal situation for someone who needs sleep. There is also the risk of becoming addicted to alcohol if you habitually drink in your busy schedule.

Deep Sleep problems with Alcohol

You may experience an apparently deeper sleep when you use alcohol, but i have always found that a deep, alcohol induced sleep leaves me feeling exhausted. This can make it harder for you to adjust to the time zone you are in by further disturbing and confusing your body’s mechanisms.

People who attempt to use alcohol to relieve jet lag need to be aware that alcohol can affect their body’s ability to naturally produce melatonin, which can get you into a vicious cycle of sleeplessness.

Melatonin Effects When Combined with Alcohol

First of all, it is important to note that the combined use of alcohol and melatonin is discouraged. The two used in combination can cause a slew of problems. Sure you want sleep, but you do not want to be so sleepy that you cannot function, and this has happened to people who have combined this hormone with their favorite tipple .

Some people have also reported that they felt as though they had a hangover after combining the two substances even in very moderate quantities.

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Side Effects Of Melatonin – Are They Serious?

What Are The Side Effects Of Melatonin?

Side effects of melatonin

Melatonin, which is the basis of popular sleep medication products such as Melatrol has become very popular in recent years, due to it being a hormone found naturally in our bodies.


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But what is melatonin and what are the side effects of melatonin? This is the second of two articles on this subject and our second article includes some very interesting beneficial side effects.

Used by Adults and Children

Melatonin is  commonly used by adults who are having issues sleeping due to work related stress, family related stress, or experiencing sleep disorders which prevent them from sleeping properly on their own. It’s also used for children as a natural solution to their sleeping problems which can be caused by school strain or after school activities.

Can worsen Depression Symptoms In Some Cases

Since melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone in the body, it’s a much safer sleep supplement for both adults and children than commonly prescribed sleeping pills – which can have really nasty side effects. Unfortunately, it does have its own side effects to watch out for. One of the biggest side effects of melatonin, is fact that in some cases, it can make the symptoms of depression worse.

Always Consult Your Doctor if You Suffer from Depression

If you suffer from any form of depression, you should talk to your doctor about melatonin and depression to find out the risks of you taking it as a sleep aid before consuming it.

Blood Sugar

Other side effects include an increase in blood sugar which can be dangerous to diabetics, an increase to the risk of having seizures, and a raise in blood pressure. Once again i advuise that if you are a diabetic, consulting a doctor about the side effects of melatonin before using it is very advisable.

What Benefits Does Melatonin Have Over Other Sleep Aids?

Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone that helps regulate your body’s sleep cycle. It’s created in the pineal gland, and helps regulate your body’s natural day and night cycle to help you sleep when you’re supposed to. As your body produces more melatonin, your body begins to feel tired.

The more your body produces melatonin, the easier it will be for you to fall asleep naturally. Unfortunately for some people, the production of melatonin in their bodies is lower than normal which can cause them to not sleep normally; this is particularly true of the elderly. Using a natural melatonin supplement can help remedy this type of situation, since it can help by making up for the lack of ‘home-grown’ melatonin in the body.

The Right Dosage

Melatonin isn’t a cure-all for every insomnia situation that prevents you from gaining the full amount of sleep that your body needs. As with any type of medication, it can have an addictive nature if you begin to rely on it for sleep. Using the recommended dosages when you do use melatonin is important, to help prevent negative melatonin effects from occurring.

Your Pineal Gland May Change its Melatonin Production

If you use this substance for an extended period, your body can start to rely on the supplement more than on its own production capacity – this is a bit like the adaptation your body makes when you diet – you eat less so your body uses less energy, you eat more and it uses less energy – the body always adapts to circumstance and the outcomes are not always what we imagine or desire.

Putting it another way, this process can lead to your pineal gland no longer producing a significant amount of melatonin, thus causing your body to rely more and more on the supplement.

How Does Melatonin Work?

Your body has a natural sleep cycle which it follows each and every night. When it gets dark outside, your body has a system inside your brain’s hypothalamus region that tells your body when it should sleep and when it shouldn’t.

Normally, this is regulated by the day and night cycle your body would follow depending on the light outside. When it gets darker outside, your body’s suprachiasmatic nucleus (or SCN) determines how your body should react to the amount of light.

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Melatonin for Kids – Is It Safe?

melatonin for kids

This is THE most important question for parents. So my first caveat here is that before giving your children anything at all, you should consult a medical professional. I will provide some facts here for you though, beginning with a quotation from a qualified medical person:

“Judith Owens, director of sleep medicine at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, has studied melatonin and children. She said that the supplement appears to have a good safety record, not only with special needs children but with healthy children as well, when used for short periods with a pediatrician’s oversight.”

Quoted from the Wall Street Journal


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Although Melatonin is completely natural, medical practitioners remain a little wary and generally do not advise using melatonin for children for extended periods. As far as I know, there have been no reports of any ill effects. Much of the caution arises I think, because of over-use by very tired and desperate parents.

How Can Melatonin Help Your Child Sleep Better?


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Lack of sleep is something that affects more than just adults in life. Many children around the country suffer from a lack of sleep for a variety of reasons. It is important to realise that although a good melatonin product like melatrol can help, you should also address the underlying cause of your child’s sleep difficulties and not use any sleep aid for extended periods of time.

Usually, a child’s lack of sleep is due to school being too hectic, after-school activities or homework being too stressful, or a variety of other activities keeping them from getting the amount of sleep they need. In a world where children have access to sleep damaging technology like iPads 24/7, parents are finding it harder and harder to get their kids to sleep each night. That’s where a safe, natural supplement like a melatonin based sleep product can help.

Almost All Of Us Need 8 Hours Of Sleep

Everybody needs at least eight hours of sleep each night, and kids are no exception. Without a regular sleeping schedule, their brains can’t function as well as they should while they’re at school. In most cases this can lead to them failing or having bad grades.

In a lot of cases it can also lead to them injuring themselves when trying to perform normally during sports activities. No matter what your child does during or after school, they need to be getting the right amount of sleep for their bodies to rejuvenate and their brains to process the information they intake each day.

Safe Natural Supplements

Unfortunately for many children, finding creative ways to get them to sleep can be difficult. There are a variety of solutions that parents can utilize, both medical and natural, that can help get their kids a full night’s rest each night. One of these solutions is through the use of melatonin, which comes in both natural supplement form and prescribed form.

Your Body’s Sleep Cycle

Your body, and your childs’, has a natural schedule that follows the day and night cycle around you. When it gets dark, your body naturally begins to produce melatonin so that your body starts to feel sleepy.

Once enough melatonin builds up in your body, you will naturally fall asleep. Unfortunately for many adults and children, naturally falling asleep can often be difficult if their day has been busy or they have a heavy work load placed on them that taxes their thought processes.

Natural Sleep

To help your body achieve a natural sleep state when it’s unable to on its own, using natural melatonin supplements can help out tremendously. The added melatonin is safe for your body, making it a great choice for children who need a kick start for bed time after a long day at school.

It’s also a lot safer for adults, since prescribed sleep medication can become addictive and lead to problems later on with their liver. Natural melatonin supplements will help your body achieve a natural sleep pattern when it’s impossible to do so on its own.

How Can My Child Benefit From Melatonin?

When your child has a lot of homework, a hard day at school, or strenuous activity during sports or extra-curricular activities, their body can start to wear down from the exhaustion.

Their brain, however, is put on fast forward essentially to help compensate for all the thinking they need to do. This can cause a lot of problems in their body chemically. Not only can it throw off their regular sleep patterns by keeping them awake longer than they should be, it can also cause an imbalance in their immune system as well.

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Insomnia Treatment

Pregnancy Insomnia – Its Causes, and What to Do About It

Pregnancy Insomnia

There isn’t a female alive who has ever given birth that cannot relate to the lament of Pregnancy Insomnia. This article concerns sleep aids based on melatonin that are safe for pregnant women.


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Pregnancy is one of the most undeniably amazing times ever to come to pass in a woman’s life, but it is also a time in which many women feel as though their bodies have been taken over by an alien being.

They typically go from one week, being normal, active women in the prime of life, to the next week spending half their time retching into the toilet and what seems like the rest of it needing to pee.

Worst of all is trying to sleep at night. The tenderness in their breasts prevents them from sleeping on their stomachs, they wake repeatedly in the night due to the increased sensation of pressure on their bladders, and the twin brothers of excitement and apprehension tend to keep them awake long into the night.

So what causes Pregnancy Insomnia, and what is the best way to survive it? This is where a safe, natural remedy using Melatonin as its key ingredient can help you.

Causes of insomnia early pregnancy

It takes some time to get used to all of the changes that occur in your body in early pregnancy. After all, there is an entire person being knit together inside of you!

The hormonal changes cause breast tenderness, and sometimes abdominal tenderness as well. Some women are prone to vivid dreams, there is the need to urinate, breast tenderness, and some women also experience nasal congestion during the first weeks of their pregnancies.

While nausea in pregnancy for most women is confined to the early part of the day (hence the term, “morning sickness”), there are others that must deal with a queasy stomach during the entirety of their pregnancy. At best, pregnancy sleep is restless sleep, and fraught with much tossing, turning and trips to the bathroom all night long.

Causes of Insomnia Later in Pregnancy

The growing baby in your uterus will eventually grow to be large enough that he or she will begin to crowd your body organs. One of the unfortunate side effects to results from the baby’s need for more space is that the mother often becomes the unwelcome recipient of heartburn.

The progesterone that floods a woman’s body during pregnancy often has the effect of causing her to be sleepy during the daytime, and wakeful at night. In addition, some women are plagued with hot flashes throughout their pregnancies.

Stomach and back sleepers are no longer able to sleep upon their stomachs and backs. In fact, some women find, especially the further along they grow to be in their pregnancies, that they’re unable to sleep in their beds, at all!

Tips on how to sleep when suffering pregnancy insomnia

Many women ask the question, how to sleep during pregnancy. To a certain degree, the same sorts of suggestions that help normal insomnia are helpful to those with difficulty sleeping at night while pregnant. For example, establishing fixed points in your sleep schedule by getting up and going to bed at the same time each day will help.

A soothing routine

Create for yourself a quiet, soothing bedtime routine, such as bathing, drinking a cup of warm chamomile tea, perhaps even reading something quiet and soothing in bed, or listening to calming music. If necessary, wear an eye shade or use soft foam ear plugs to help block out light and sounds as you sleep.

Sleeping on your side

Sleeping on your side will be more comfortable than any other position, and many women find that placing a pillow between their knees, or else using a full length pregnancy pillow is helpful in establishing a comfortable sleeping position. If heartburn is bothersome, prop yourself up slightly on pillows and take an antacid as needed.

Sleep Inducing Supplements

While it is never recommended to take medications while pregnant, there are a number of over the counter natural supplements that you can take that will prove to be both relaxing as well as sleep inducing.

Examples of good-for-you supplements that are effective natural sleep aids include such things as Melatonin, Magnesium L-threonate and Tart Cherry Extract. Others find GABA, Maca or Ashwaganda to be all that they need to help them turn the corner to find sleep. Still other women often find the the old home remedy of drinking a cup of warm milk before bed to be relaxing.

Be Patient

The world will not end if you’re wakeful at night and groggy during the day. This, too, shall pass. Therefore, adopt the mindset that you’ll do whatever it takes to simply get the sleep that you need whether that means napping every afternoon, sleeping in a couple of mornings a week.

You’re just like 75% of other women!

National polls have shown that more than 75% of all women claim to sleep worse during pregnancy than when not pregnant. Many women report that they sleep better if they take the time to walk or to exercise during the day.

If night sweats or heat keeps you awake, consider purchasing one of the new “chill” pillows that are on the market … often, simply having a consistently cool pillow is all that’s needed to help you drift off to sleep!

Where can I buy Melatonin that’s Safe For Pregnant Women?

Most doctors seem to concur that melatonin is safe for pregnant women in low doses (3mg or less per night). So as long as the dose is low and the product is of guaranteed high quality and preferably made in the US, you should be safe with any brand – melatrol is one high quality American brand.


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Insomnia Treatment

What Is Melatonin? – How Can It Help Me Sleep?

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Sleepless nights can be difficult to deal with, especially on a constant basis. When our bodies do not get enough sleep, they tend to want to shut down at the first chance they can get. This can often lead to our bodies giving out on us (rapid yawning, fainting and lack of concentration) during important activities, such as during an important meeting or while driving. This article is about a natural substance called melatonin, which is the basis of many safe sleep aid products such as melatrol.


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Without the proper amount of sleep each night, our bodies can’t regenerate and heal properly from the day before. This can lead to more problems than most people may realize, and even to long term health issues.

This is why some of us need supplements (as advised by a medical practitioner of course). I’ll be telling you about the natural sleep-inducer Melatonin, and some of the products you’ll find it in, like Melatrol.

With a lack of sleep, comes a lack of motor skills. More often than not, a person who has not had enough sleep will tend to be slower when thinking and responding to situations. This can be anything from being slow to comprehend a problem they’re trying to solve, to being slow at reacting to something about to hit them.

In the latter case, it can result in serious injury or worse. Providing your body with the right amount of sleep each night, which doctors recommend to be 8 hours on average, you can ensure both your brain and body get enough rest to function properly the next day.

How Can I Make Sure I Get Enough Sleep?

The best way to ensure you get a full night’s rest, is by ensuring your body is healthy and relaxed. Not everyone can fall asleep on their own unfortunately. Many people require a sleep aid to help them get into dreamland, often resorting to visiting their doctor for a sleep aid prescription just to get the sleep they need each night.

This can lead to addiction in some cases, due to the types of medications being prescribed for the problem. There are other solutions, however, that don’t require you to get a prescription for your doctor or risk a chance of addiction.

Over the counter sleep aids, such as the melatonin based sleep med, Melatrol are a great solution towards getting the type of sleep your body needs, without the risk of addiction or the hassle of visiting a doctor.

What Is Melatonin?

While you may be asking yourself “Just What Is Melatonin anyway?”, the better question to be asking is “How can melatonin help me sleep better?” The simple answer is, Melatonin is a natural hormone that gets made by your body’s pineal gland.

This means that Melatonin is already in your body, and gets made naturally by it to help you regulate sleep and your body’s sleeping patterns. A natural chemical that’s in your body already will be a better sleep aid than one that’s synthetic that gets prescribed by your doctor.

Using an over the counter Melatonin Sleep Aid is a lot safer than many other solutions both prescribed or otherwise given to you. Since the hormone is naturally produced, your body is used to it being there and can absorb, utilize, and metabolize it easier than a synthetic chemical. As long as you follow the correct Melatonin Dosage instructions, your body will see no adverse effects when taking a Melatonin sleep aid.

How Does Melatonin Work?

Our bodies have a natural schedule they follow when it comes to sleeping, and Melatonin is produced by the pineal gland to help regulate this schedule. When your body produces the right amount of Melatonin, you begin to feel sleepy and can fall asleep naturally.

Some people have low Melatonin production ratios, making it harder for them to sleep normally. With the help of a Melatonin sleep aid, you can remedy this by keeping your body supplemented when you need to sleep. Since Melatonin is a natural hormone, it makes it a lot safer for you to take than other sleep aids.

Another key factor in how your body sleeps, revolves around the hypothalamus region of your brain. There, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (or SCN), determines how your body reacts to the various stages of light during the day. When it gets dark, your body’s SCN turns on your pineal gland to start producing Melatonin.

This helps your body know when it’s time to sleep, and when it’s time to be awake. As your body winds down and begins to enter the sleep stage, your Melatonin levels will stay elevated for up to 12 hours. This helps to ensure you get a full nights sleep naturally.

Conclusion

Finding the solution that works best for you can often be a daunting task. Even with the Best otc sleep aid on the market, you may not see results right away. It’s always important to follow the directions on the medication, even if you feel confident in determining your own dosage.

If any complications should arise, seek medical treatment as soon as possible. Melatonin sleep aids can help you achieve the restful sleep you need, as long as you’re responsible while taking them.

Where can I buy Melatonin at a Good Price?

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