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Melatonin
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Melatonin is a hormone in the same category as estrogen and testosterone and should not automatically be used as liberally as its current availability suggests. It is manufactured from tryptophan by the pineal gland in the brain and secreted in small amounts. Melatonin plays an important role in the sleep cycle, the trigger for melatonin secretion being decreased light exposure: as sunlight exposure decreases, melatonin secretion begins. Several factors impair the production of melatonin, including light, exercise, alcohol, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Melatonin influences the immune system and evidence is accumulating that it is a regulator of sex hormone production and useful in several male and female conditions. Melatonin deficiencies have been seen in patients with in cancer, heart disease, ulcers, Alzheimer's, and SIDS, although some of these correlations don't appear to be particularly strong.
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Melatonin insomnia medicine is is a sleeping pill, natural and cheap. Researchers report this hormone could reset the body's aging clock, turning back the ravages of time. Melatonin medicine may help ease insomnia, combat jet lag, prevent pregnancy (in large doses), protect cells from free-radical damage, boost the immune system, prevent cancer, and extend life. Where cancer is concerned, the evidence isn't limited to mouse studies. Autopsy studies suggest that pineal calcification (a condition that hardens the gland) is most common in countries with high rates of breast cancer and least common in countries where breast cancer is rare. Melatonin may ... prove useful for fighting existing malignancies.
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Melatonin has side effects, but much less so that pharmaceutical sleeping pills. A common melatonin side effect is a nightmare. Another melatonin side effect is morning grogginess. Long-term safety is not known... melatonin thus far appears to be very safe in the short term. Vivid dreams and next day morning grogginess are common melatonin side effects on dosages greater than 0.5 mg. Prolonged use may have an influence on sex organs (see study below) and reduce libido in some users. Most pharmaceutical sleeping pills are associated with memory loss, but this does not happen to be a melatonin side effect.
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Melatonin appears to have some use against circadian rhythm sleep disorders, such as jet lag and delayed sleep phase syndrome. It has been studied for the treatment of cancer, immune disorders, cardiovascular diseases, depression, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and sexual dysfunction. A study by Alfred J. Lewy and other researchers at Oregon Health & Science University found that it may ameliorate SAD and circadian misalignment,[25] but as of 2006 it is known to affect the timing of endogenous melatonin production, raising the risk that it can exacerbate both clinical depression and SAD.[26] Basic research indicates that melatonin may play a significant role in modulating the effects of drugs of abuse such as cocaine.[27]
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Melatonin, a hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain, is increasingly being used to treat sleep disturbance in children. Melatonin is most commonly used for jet lag, but claims have been made that it ... promotes general health and protects against the effects of ageing. Melatonin helps regulate the body's sleep-wake cycle and its production is determined by light and dark. When darkness falls, the pineal gland produces more melatonin, promoting sleep and regulating the body's sleep-wake cycle with the outside world. Because of its use in promoting sleep, melatonin is increasingly used in the treatment of sleep disturbance in children. However, this particular use of the drug has been studied very little and in fact, melatonin is not licensed as a drug in most countries.
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Melatonin can kill directly many different types of tumour cells. It is a naturally produced cytotoxin, which can induce tumor cell death (apoptosis). In instances where the tumour has already established itself in the body, melatonin has been shown to inhibit the tumour’s growth rate. Melatonin exhibits natural oncostatic activity and inhibits cancer cell growth. In patients in whom cancer has become a noticeable physical burden and produces overt symptoms, melatonin has been shown to alleviate numerous cancer symptoms and to inhibit development of new tumour blood vessels (tumour angiogenesis), which in turn inhibits the cancer from spreading further (mestastasis).
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Melatonin