What Are The 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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