Melatonin and Sleep - Everything You Need to Know

Your body has a natural body clock that may indicate when to wake up or sleep. As darkness approaches, in the evening, your brain produces melatonin.

Melatonin plays the role of a "sleep signal", demonstrating to your body that it is time to slow down and prepare for sleep.

As melatonin levels increase in your brain, you start to feel tired. When you wake up in the morning with sunlight, your melatonin peaks drop so you can awake and be alert.

Melatonin is your body's way of regulating your sleep-wake cycle!

Think of your body like a cozy little house. Inside that house, there’s a tiny helper named Mel. Mel’s job is to help you fall asleep. He lives in a quiet corner of your brain called the pineal gland.

Mel doesn’t work all day. He only starts working when it gets dark outside.

When you're out in the sun or sitting near a window during the day, your eyes are picking up all that light.

This light sends a message to your brain: “It’s daytime! Time to be active!” Mel hears that and knows it’s not his time yet, so he waits.

But when the sun sets and the sky gets darker, your eyes notice the change. They quietly tell your brain, Hey, it’s night now. Let’s start winding down.

That’s how your body knows when it’s time to sleep

Melatonin is often given the label of “sleep hormone,” but it does more than make you sleepy.

Here is what it actually does:

1. Regulates The Sleep-Wake Cycle

The main purpose of melatonin is to govern your body's circadian rhythms - the internal clock that tells your body when it should be sleepy and when it should be alert based on light and darkness.

2. Helps Signal Bedtime

When it gets dark, melatonin levels go up and the signals to your body are:

It’s time to wind down and sleep.

This signal helps with becoming sleepy and keeping you on track with your sleep schedule.

3. Helps Support Brain and Body Recovery

Melatonin helps you sleep, but it also helps your body recover while you sleep. While you are sleeping deeply, the brain gets rid of waste, the muscles recover, the immune system resets - and melatonin helps move that process alone

4. Helps Adjust to Time Zone Changes

If you have experienced jet lag, you will understand how melatonin was affected. Your body did not know what time it was! Melatonin helps you reset the sleep-wake cycle if needed as part of transition/syncing.

Simply put, melatonin is your body's nighttime manager.

It does not put you to sleep, it prepares your body to sleep.

1. Get Plenty of Natural Light During the Day

Sunlight helps regulate your body clock. Spending time outside during the day tells your brain when it’s time to be awake — which helps melatonin release properly at night.

2.Eat Melatonin-Rich Foods

Certain foods naturally contain melatonin or its building blocks, like:

• Cherries
• Nuts (especially walnuts)
• Bananas
• Oats
• Milk

Including these in your evening snack can gently support melatonin production.

3.Dim Your Lights in the Night

Bright lights and screens cause your brain to think that it’s still daytime. After it gets dark, use soft or warm lights, so your brain gets a signal to prepare for sleep.

4.Stick with Consistent Sleep Times

Always go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day so your body can understand the routine and start producing melatonin properly.

Follow these steps to help your body make melatonin naturally and sleep better.

Melatonin pills can help if you

• Have trouble falling asleep
• Are dealing with jet lag
• Work night shifts or have changing sleep times

But melatonin pills might not be for everyone. Talk to a doctor if you:

• Are pregnant or breastfeeding
• Take other medicines
• Have any health problems

Melatonin should always be used only for the short term, not long term.

Also, try to reduce your mobile phone screen time so your body can naturally produce melatonin and you won’t need to take pills.

If you consider the time we spend sleeping, about one-third of our life, sleep, in fact, becomes a very key player for our health.

An amazing hormone that really can make life better is called melatonin.

If you take care of sleep hygiene, your body will be able to produce ample amounts of melatonin, which, in turn, means you will be sleeping well every night.