Melatonin secretion by human and mammalian pineal gland is related to light, which is characterized by a peak secretion at night and a low secretion during the day. This feature helps the human body to adjust the sleep state and sleep time.
The secretion of melatonin is also related to age. With the increase of age, the pineal gland gradually degenerates and the secretion level decreases. In infancy, melatonin levels are the highest at night, and then decrease year by year, which is why the older you get, the easier it is to fall asleep (of course, only most people! Sleep like my grandmother)
So is melatonin a good thing to help sleep?
Yes, melatonin can really help you sleep.
It can adjust the rhythm of sleep and awakening, speed up falling asleep, reduce the number of awakenings at night, prolong sleep time and improve sleep quality. Moreover, after oral administration of melatonin for 40 minutes, the metabolic density level can be reduced by half, and it can be reduced to physiological level after 7-8 hours, so its metabolites will not accumulate in the body and have little toxicity.
But!
First, the hypnotic effect of melatonin is suitable for people.
Although melatonin can improve sleep quality, it can't "eliminate" all insomnia problems. It is more suitable for physiological melatonin deficiency (such as the elderly with insomnia) or circadian rhythm disorder (such as jet lag patients), but it is ineffective for other insomnia caused by internal and external factors, such as anxiety, pain (imagining yourself before the exam) or insomnia caused by noise interference when drinking coffee and strong tea.
So, please don't blindly use melatonin (like me)!
Second, there is a dose problem in the use of melatonin.
Studies have shown that taking 2mg melatonin 1 ~2 hours before going to bed has a good hypnotic effect on people with sleep disorders caused by melatonin deficiency. However, at present, the dose of melatonin sold in the market is often too large, exceeding the daily dose recommended by the international community.
Long-term overdose of melatonin may affect the normal secretion of melatonin, leading to sleep disorders and aggravating insomnia symptoms. Taking too much will also make people feel poor, sleepy, distracted, and have problems such as decreased reaction ability.
So your bad spirit is not necessarily caused by eating less melatonin and not sleeping well, but it may also be a side effect of eating too much melatonin!
To sum up, the application scope of melatonin is narrow, its own dosage is difficult to control, and it is easy to produce side effects. Bian Xiao's suggestion is: I won't eat!
What should I do if I have insomnia?
In fact, we can find ways to improve melatonin without spending money!
As mentioned above, the secretion of melatonin in human body is greatly influenced by light intensity. During the day, the concentration of melatonin in the blood is low, and at night, the light is getting darker and darker, and the concentration of melatonin will get higher and higher.
Therefore, it may be more effective to regulate the level of melatonin in the body by creating a good sleeping environment and developing healthy sleeping habits, such as fixing sleeping time, not playing electronic products in bed, dimming the room lights in advance, and maintaining a relaxed and calm mood. These can enhance the secretion of melatonin in the body and accelerate sleep.
Warm reminder, the blue light emitted by electronic products will inhibit the secretion of melatonin, which will only make you more awake. Those who doze off with their mobile phones before going to bed, wake up!
One third of a person's life is devoted to sleep, and it is not a rumor that a bad sleep will ruin a day! So being able to sleep is a great blessing in life!