There is a gland the size of a soybean in our brain, called the pineal gland. The main hormone it secretes is melatonin.
From the synthetic process of melatonin in human body, it can be seen that melatonin evolved from tryptophan (an amino acid, an important part of protein) through a series of biochemical reactions.
In short, melatonin is a hormone secreted by the body. Whether you eat melatonin or not, it will be in your body.
The synthesis of melatonin in human body is influenced by photoperiod, which changes in circadian rhythm, generally low during the day and high at night, and reaches the peak at 2:00~3:00 in the morning. A person's melatonin secretion is not only influenced by day and night, but also related to age.
Studies have shown that melatonin regulates sleep by activating MT 1 and MT2 receptors. At night, melatonin activates its receptor, quickly inhibits the neural activity of suprachiasmatic nucleus and causes sleep.
At present, most of the melatonin you buy in the market is chemically synthesized.
Although the synthesized melatonin and melatonin secreted by human body have the same primary chemical structure, are their biological characteristics the same? Does the synthesized melatonin enter the body and affect other hormones in the human body? There are no clear research results on these issues.
In addition, melatonin is not stored in the human body, and the brain and liver are the main metabolic sites of melatonin.
In the natural state, melatonin produced in the human body is metabolized and excreted by the liver after it acts in the heart and brain; The melatonin you eat is likely to pass through the digestive tract first and be decomposed by the liver.
In other words, no one knows how much melatonin you eat to regulate sleep.
Maybe you will have a question: Why did I eat melatonin and my sleep quality really improved? . I think this situation can be explained from three aspects:
1, placebo effect Because you know that melatonin is good for sleep, this kind of self-consolation (suggestion) can play a positive role.
2, eat melatonin to improve sleep habits. For example, compared with before, after eating melatonin, you can improve your sleep quality without watching your mobile phone or brushing videos before going to bed.
3, the quality of sleep is still not good, but you just think melatonin is good. This is called endowment effect in psychology, which means that once an individual owns an item, his evaluation of the value of the item is much higher than before.
Although it is not reliable to buy melatonin at a high price, from the perspective of melatonin secretion, we can still make the body secrete more melatonin through our own efforts.
1, intake of high-quality protein, eat more foods rich in tryptophan, and ensure sufficient raw materials in the body. For example, pure milk, yogurt, pumpkin seeds and cereal are all rich in tryptophan.
2. The sleeping environment is very important. Turn off the lights, cell phones and other light sources after lying in bed. A dark environment can promote the body to secrete melatonin and fall asleep as soon as possible. Pro-test is effective!
To sum up, it may not be that there is less melatonin on our legs, but that there are too many burdens in our hearts. Instead of taking melatonin, it's better to take a short vacation, don't look at your mobile phone, and don't talk about work.
Finally, I hope everyone can eat well and sleep soundly!
1, rumor: girls wake up! Your fruit meal replacement is neither nutritious nor slimming.
2, wrong, a light diet is not oil-free and salt-free! Master 7 points, light diet and comprehensive nutrition.
3. Don't treat chestnut as a staple food! It's hotter than you think.