Fall Asleep Faster, Stay Asleep Longer
Melatonin is made by the tiny pineal gland located in the back of the brain. The pineal gland secretes melatonin at night to help us fall asleep and stay asleep. As we age, the pineal gland secretes less and less melatonin, making it more difficult for us to enjoy the benefits of a full night‘s rest.
And nothing will make you feel your age (or older!) than a chronic lack of 7 ½ – 8 hours of restorative sleep.
And nothing will make you feel your age (or older!) than a chronic lack of 7 ½ – 8 hours of restorative sleep.
If you have trouble falling asleep, consider using the instant release melatonin that dissolves under the tongue. If you cannot stay asleep, consider using the extended release melatonin that allows the continual release of small doses of melatonin to keep you asleep.
Melatonin also helps to regulate our internal clocks that tell us when it is supposed to be day and when it is supposed to be night. If you fly across two or more time zones in a day, your body clock will be out of sync with the new time zone, leading to jet lag. To synchronize your internal clock with the new time zone, you can take a melatonin supplement to correspond to your new bedtime and help reduce the length and degree of jet lag.
At higher doses than would be used for sleep, clinical researchers have also reported that melatonin supplementation can improve survival in cancer patients (cancers of the breast, lung, kidney, liver, pancreas, stomach, prostate, and brain), reduce the side effects of chemotherapy (including low platelet levels and nerve problems of the hands and feet), reduce the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal in patients trying to quit smoking, as well as be used as a natural anti-anxiety treatment, especially for those undergoing surgery of any kind.