For many years everything has been said and read about melatonin and even today the topic is more relevant than ever.
At the moment, research is still working to collect data on the use, dosages and times of use. New possible applications of melatonin in the field of degenerative diseases and in the treatment of aging have also been hypothesized.
.The production of melatonin is minimal in the first months of life, increases in youth and then returns to decline in late adulthood and old age.
of the organism. Its secretion is regulated by light: when the light stimulus reaches the retina a signal is transmitted to the epiphysis where its secretion is inhibited. The dark, on the other hand, stimulates its release.
For this reason, melatonin peaks at night and much lower values (nadir) during the day.
Since melatonin has a sedative effect, the brain uses it as a sort of signal to inform the body that it is dark and that it is therefore time to sleep and rest.
Melatonin for short
Melatonin is a lipo-water-soluble hormone produced mainly by the Epiphysis, a small gland in the brain.
It is secreted during the night in response to the lack of stimulation of the retinal photoreceptors by daylight.
Melatonin is very low during the first three months of life and with no noticeable differences between night and day levels. From 4-6 months, melatonin levels gradually increase with a peak at 3 years
Its production decreases with age due to the calcification of the Epiphysis
they can be divided into two main categories: on the one hand we find all those people who find it very difficult to sleep but who when they fall asleep complete their rest; on the other hand there are subjects who fall asleep easily but who wake up in the middle of the night or in the early hours of the morning without being able to go back to sleep.Melatonin has proved effective especially in the first case where it acts by restoring the natural biological rhythms of the organism. Some sleep disorders in fact depend above all on the phase shift of the melatonin secretion cycle while a quantitative deficit is quite rare.
The efficacy of melatonin in the treatment of jat-lag has been widely documented. It is in fact the most studied field of application and in which melatonin has proved most effective.
Jet lag is nothing more than the so-called time zone syndrome that affects those who frequently travel from one part of the world to another. Typical of intercontinental flight hostesses, just to cite an example, this syndrome is characterized by sleep disturbances , lack of appetite, digestive difficulties, nervousness and irritability An integration of melatonin intervenes in these cases to regulate the internal clock, upset by the time zone.
and antitumor of melatonin. In particular, according to recent acquisitions, melatonin would be able to considerably reduce the side effects of certain drugs used in anticancer therapy.is controversial (some studies denounce a possible depressive effect in predisposed subjects).
On the other hand, melatonin is practically devoid of contraindications when it is taken only for short periods.
When it comes to melatonin, the word supplement is a must; according to the FDA, this substance is not yet considered a drug and as such the chemical freedom of production and trade are very different. In fact, melatonin can be sold with a certain freedom in pharmacies as an over-the-counter product but also in herbalists and authorized supermarkets.
, will be able to direct it towards the assumption of a specific formula, allowing to obtain the maximum result in maximum safety.Until a few years ago, doses of 3mg of melatonin were recommended for men (heavier body weight) and only one milligram for women. Research is currently focusing on much lower doses (in the order of 0.1-0.3 mg) which still seem to be equally effective.
