Melatonin Is Not Just for Sleep Anymore!

When I was a child, my mother made me watch the Leonard Bernstein children’s concerts on TV. I always thought the conductor was a little silly, waving the baton vigorously, hair flying every which way. As I got older, I was amazed that one person waving one little stick could coordinate the activities of a hundred musicians and their instruments to create seamless, transcendent music. There is a reason they call the efficient organization of systems to target a specific goal “orchestration.”

Our body is an orchestra. We may not have a woodwind section, but we have sections devoted to heart, lungs, liver, brain, pancreas, kidneys and so much more, and it all has to work together beautifully. And in harmony. And in rhythm. And that is where melatonin comes in. Who knew? Melatonin is a lot like Leonard Bernstein!

Most people associate melatonin with sleep. Melatonin is indeed a compound (some say it is a hormone, some researchers claim it is not exactly a hormone, so let’s call it a compound for now) that tells the body to prepare for sleep. It is not a sedative, it is not a sleeping pill, but it certainly delivers on a good night’s sleep. But like an orchestra, coordinating sleep is just the piccolo section. There is so much more that melatonin directs.

How Does it Work?

Melatonin directly affects our circadian rhythm, which are “physical, mental and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle.” This process responds to exposure to light and dark. Most living things, including animals, plants and even microorganisms, have a circadian rhythm.

The next step up is the biological clock, which orchestrates (no pun intended) the timing of processes in the body and regulates circadian rhythm. Nearly all organs, body tissues and even cells, contain biological clocks. Going up one level, there is a master clock that lives in the brain, in a section of the hypothalamus, that is wired to receive direct signals from the eyes. Exposure to light and dark are important to many areas of physical functioning, and also dictates the creation and release of melatonin. So please, don’t sleep with your lights on.

These regulatory mechanisms dictate areas of immune, cellular, heart, brain, gastrointestinal and hormonal function. And that is why melatonin is for so much more than sleep.

Cancer Prevention and Treatment

Because melatonin is so deeply involved in many physiological processes, including cellular replication and genetic protection, it is understandable that it plays a role in preventing cancer and supporting cancer recovery.

There are many ways that melatonin inhibits cancer. While we sleep, melatonin keeps our cells in balance and protects our DNA from oxidative damage. If there is not enough melatonin, damaged or even malignant cells have more opportunity to replicate, which in turn leads to the creation of tumors. This may be a reason why researchers have found that people who work the night shift are more vulnerable to cancer, especially hormonal cancers like breast cancer. In hormonal cancers, melatonin modulates the reaction of hormone-sensitive cells to hormone triggers.

The good news is that melatonin can be an important tool in cancer recovery. In fact, it has been shown that melatonin can enhance anticancer drug activity to better eliminate tumors as well.

Depression and Mood

One of the most profound ways that circadian rhythms affect us is by strongly influencing mood. Researchers have found that better synchronizing our body’s rhythms can relieve symptoms of depression. It has been found that people with major depressive disorder have lower levels of melatonin in their bloodstream. I do not think that is a coincidence.

Our mood—whether anxiety, depression or just having an off day—is directly linked to our circadian rhythms.

One way that melatonin accomplishes improvement in mood is through boosting the brain’s neuroplasticity, which is the ability of the brain to adapt, grow and learn. It also affects emotional responses, so makes sense that it would have a measurable impact on how we feel emotionally each day.

Infections

Melatonin has been investigated for its ability to protect against bacteria and viral infections, and to speed recovery. There are many integrative protocols utilizing melatonin for people with dangerous infections, including COVID-19. In addition to its known antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity, and its ability to enhance immune system activity, very recent research has found that melatonin upregulates (makes stronger) an activity (K63 polyubiquitination) that boosts an anti-viral signaling protein inside the cell mitochondria itself.

This may be why older adults are more vulnerable to serious infections, as melatonin levels decline significantly with age.

Cognitive Problems

We discussed neuroplasticity for mood. The good news is that enhancing neuroplasticity is useful in neurological diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, too. In fact, melatonin has been shown to inhibit the deposit of compounds that create the beta-amyloid plaques in the brain associated specifically with Alzheimer’s.

If you have chronic sleep issues, you are much more at risk for neurodegeneration. That is because your brain goes into self-repair and restoration mode when you are in the deepest phases of sleep. If you don’t have much time in that phase, your brain health suffers. It is estimated that 63 percent of adults with mild cognitive impairment and about 44 percent of those with Alzheimer’s have significantly interrupted or disturbed sleep.

Some clinical research has demonstrated that in people with Alzheimer’s disease, even low doses of sustained-release melatonin improves thinking and memory. In the study, people were also on medications for cognitive function. Therefore, melatonin might not only slow disease progression, but it also appears to be safe to use with other medications. However, when using any supplement with medications, it is a good idea to share that with your health care provider.

Other research that has examined the role of melatonin in autism spectrum disorder, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, multiple sclerosis and other conditions. They found that melatonin and the circadian cycle is strongly correlated with the severity of symptoms. More research is needed on this promising topic.

Digestive Disorders

There is certainly a rhythm to digestion. I travelled to Japan some years back, and when I returned home, I was never hungry at mealtime. Then, hours later at some random time, I’d be starving. It took me two weeks to readjust.

There are times when our intestines are more active, and times when they are less so. The acid release in our stomach waxes and wanes as well. Researchers have found that melatonin prevents ulcers and protects the lining of the stomach and intestines. Clinical studies have shown that melatonin can be effective for chronic heartburn, or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), reducing stomach pain and burning.

Another human study looked at irritable bowel disease (IBD) and found that 8 mg of melatonin every night significantly improved symptoms. The researchers pointed out that melatonin has an impact on the smooth muscle of the intestines, causing more relaxation. Other studies have found benefits for use in ulcerative colitis as well.

Autoimmune Diseases

Autoimmune diseases do the exact opposite of what the immune system is designed to do. Instead of protection, they cause damage. Instead of healing, they cause dysfunction. Did you know that there are more than 80 autoimmune diseases, and they can affect the kidneys, stomach, eyes, skin, joints, gut, liver and mouth—and that is a partial list? Not only do they interfere with health and daily activities, but they can also cause permanent damage. The earlier the intervention, the better the long-term outcome.

Published studies have shown that melatonin controls the release of natural immune compounds and T-cell responses. It doesn’t uniformly boost the immune system, it modulates activity. Melatonin has been shown to inhibit the actions of TNF-a through the NF-kB pathway, preventing the inflammatory symptoms seen in rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, multiple sclerosis, lupus, inflammatory bowel disease and Sjogren’s syndrome.

Cardiovascular

Doctors have long known that healthy sleep is linked to heart health. Part of it is the rejuvenate/rebuild mode that is activated in the deepest levels of slumber. Studies have demonstrated that melatonin reduces blood pressure, reduces LDL cholesterol, and can even repair the health of blood vessels, in part, by normalizing nitric oxide levels and decreasing the oxidative stress in both veins and arteries.

The Liver

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is estimated to affect more than a third of people living in the United States. Accumulating fat in the liver is a serious problem, because in interferes with the healthy activity of liver cells. That means that our ability to detoxify dangerous compounds and make enough bile for proper digestion can be imperiled.

In a published clinical study of people with NAFLD, a melatonin does of 10 mg per day improved fat metabolism in the liver, reduced triglycerides and LDL cholesterol, and decreased liver inflammation.

Melatonin is also useful for cirrhosis of the liver as it prevents premature liver cell death and reduces liver inflammation, as well as actives that can lead to liver fibrosis.

So Much More

Remember the vintage Ronco television commercials for special knives? They slice, they dice, but wait … they also julienne! I remember those commercials when discussing melatonin, because no matter how many benefits I list, but wait … there’s even more! Studies on melatonin have shown that it is quite useful for type 2 diabetes because of its antioxidant activity, ability to protect and preserve pancreatic cells, and impact on insulin levels.

A clinical study showed that melatonin is effective at managing the symptoms of menopause, especially menopause-related weight gain.

Another study demonstrated that melatonin helps prevent bone loss. Other research highlights its benefits for metabolic syndrome. The list continues to be expanded as research on this amazing compound continues to grow.

Dosage

There are so many studies on varying doses for different health issues that it is difficult to make a firm recommendation. You may need to look up the condition you wish to treat to get an idea of what dosages have been studied for that particular application. For example, the dose of melatonin for sleep can be 2 to 5 mg, whereas some studies of serious diseases have used 100 mg or more. That is quite the range.

If you are considering using melatonin for issues other than sleep, you may want to choose a sustained release form that spreads the dose out over time. This may also be a useful form if you use immediate release melatonin and fall asleep but cannot stay asleep. The sustained release could be quite beneficial.

If you feel groggy the next morning, you may be taking your melatonin too late. Remember, this is not a sleeping pill and you do not take it right before bed. Melatonin orchestrates the processes that tell you it is time to relax and go to sleep, and that process starts when the sun goes down. Try taking your melatonin two hours before bedtime and see if that doesn’t provide a brighter morning.

Melatonin is a natural medicine that is growing rapidly as more benefits are discovered and may be a supplement you should consider adding to your supplement regimen. VR

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Cheryl Myers is an integrative health nurse, author, and an expert on natural medicine. She is a nationally recognized speaker who has been interviewed by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Prevention magazine. Her many articles have been published in such diverse journals as Aesthetic Surgery Journal and Nutrition in Complementary Care, and her research on botanicals has been presented at the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the North American Menopause Society. Myers is the head of scientific affairs and education for EuroPharma, Inc.