Melatonin

You’ll have no doubt heard about your happy hormone - serotonin and your stress hormone - cortisol, but what about your sleep hormone – melatonin?

Melatonin controls your body’s sleep-wake cycles, higher levels initiate feelings of tiredness and subsequently sleep at night; levels start to taper off in the morning indicating to your body that it’s time to wake up.

Production of melatonin occurs in the pineal gland in the evening, when natural light levels decrease. When your circadian rhythm is in sync and all is working as it should, melatonin puts your body into a state of quiet wakefulness that promotes sleep.

But that’s just part of the story, because we use the time during sleep to rest, repair and regenerate, melatonin plays a crucial role in our overall wellbeing, in fact it appears to be an anti-oxidant in its own right. It binds to internal free radicals preventing them from causing damage, and stimulates the production of other antioxidant enzymes.

If you’re struggling to sleep and wake at the right times, typically wake during the early hours of the morning, or feel unrefreshed or sluggish, your melatonin levels may be imbalanced.

Sleep is critical to our wellbeing – both mental and physical, and making sure our melatonin levels are supported naturally is a key part of supporting sleep.