Are We in a Melatonin Crisis?
Melatonin is a hormone that is secreted by the pineal gland of the brain. The hormone is essential
to allow the body to sleep. Melatonin production is connected to light. The brighter your
surroundings the less melatonin is produced and in turn the less sleepy you will feel. When you
spend hours on your phone before falling asleep you are preventing your brain from secreting
melatonin. Although melatonin is a natural hormone it can be purchased in pill form. We are
seeing a surge in the use of long-term melatonin dependency. Within the last decade, the use of
melatonin has doubled.
Melatonin was created to be used in the short term for things such as jetlag. The contents of
melatonin are not being properly regulated. “Previous studies also found 26% of the melatonin
supplements contained serotonin”. Serotonin is a hormone that when mixed with other
medications can cause a harmful drug reaction. People are unknowingly taking higher doses of
melatonin on a daily basis with long-term use consequences unknown. “Melatonin has been
linked to headaches, dizziness, nausea, stomach cramps, drowsiness, confusion or disorientation,
irritability and mild anxiety, depression and tremors as well as abnormally low blood pressure. “
Studies have suggested that taking melatonin only decreases the time it takes to fall asleep by
four to eight minutes. Regardless of the effects the rise in usage continues while other natural
remedies remain available.
It is possible to train your brain to sleep still we continue to see a rise in melatonin usage.
Strategies such as no screen time one hour before bed and creating a nighttime routine that
prepares your brain to sleep; have been proven to increase melatonin production naturally. These
natural lifestyle changes may be even more effective in inducing sleep. The reality is for some
people they are not allowing the hormone to be produced naturally through the brain and in turn
struggle to fall asleep. Despite this, it seems as if people are not willing to make lifestyle changes
and choose the easy fix of taking a pill.
Payton Carroll (1)
Source: Sandee LaMotte. Mon June 5, 2023. Using Melatonin for Sleep is on the Rise, Study
says, Despite Potential Health Harms. CNN. [accessed Sept. 15, 2023]
https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/01/health/melatonin-overuse-wellness/index.html
Hello Payton. This topic is really prevalent in my life right now. Lately I have been having trouble sleeping after being on my phone before bed, so I have been using melatonin pills. I had no idea about the negative side effects that came with long term use of melatonin supplements. This has really opened my eyes and I am now motivated to seek alternative methods to improve my sleep. I really like that you also included the lifestyle changes that help reduce the need for melatonin supplements. I will be trying them out! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI really liked reading this! I wasn't aware of the addition of serotonin in some melatonin supplements but from a medical standpoint, that's very concerning. I've had patients experiencing serotonin syndrome, which can be severe and cause seizures, as a result of drug interactions. It's only getting more prevalent with the increase in prescriptions of SSRIs that also increase levels of serotonin in the brain.
ReplyDelete-Megan Winkler
This post was very informative. I was also not aware that that melatonin supplements contained serotonin! I wonder why it is mixed with serotonin if it's known that it can cause a harmful drug reaction. I personally have always been wary and scared of taking melatonin (although I have always had so much trouble falling asleep) as I'm concerned I just won't wake up in the morning. After reading this, I'm glad my irrational fear has prevented me from ever taking it! Since coming to college, I have started following the no phone one hour before bed and it has helped immensely. The nights I do decide to be on my phone before going to bed, I majorly see the difference in being able to fall asleep.
ReplyDeleteI had the same fears with melatonin. I was amazed after a little research that I had science to back up my fears. I love that you have first hand experience with other sleep techniques and can back up the claims that it really can work! - Payton Carroll
DeleteHi Payton! I do see a large amount of melatonin dependency in my life, in my friends, family, and even myself. I used to depend on melatonin more heavily and would take it most weekday nights, however, now I have slimmed it down to rare occasions and only when I believe I need it. With that being said, I do not believe we should be selling hormones that are already naturally being secreted from your body without a prescription. For instance, serotonin is another naturally produced hormone and in order to get medication and or pills to increase serotonin levels (SSRIs) you must have a prescription from your doctor. I believe that the same standard should be held for melatonin so less people would abuse it.
ReplyDeleteChloe Springer
I totally agree. This isn't something that is often talked about. It is crazy to think about how some things can be so heavily regulated and other such as melatonin are left unregulated. I wonder as the dependency and usage continues to rise if we'll see a change in its regulation. -Payton Carroll
DeleteAs someone who uses melatonin more than I probably should, this post was definitely very informative towards my melatonin use. It's definitely a little concerning to learn that some melatonin supplements contain serotonin too, which definitely may speak to other issues. It's worrying, too, that there is increased melatonin with low regulation and long term consequences aside from just dependency. I'm definitely going to try and use melatonin s minimally as possible because I really didn't understand the full impact of melatonin on my daily health. Thanks for sharing this informative post!
ReplyDeleteSophia Rinaldi
This seems to be a common trend. Most people take it without even thinking about it. It has become so normalized in our society that nobody stops to look at the long term consequences. -Payton Carroll
DeleteOh wow, this was really an eye opener. As someone who recently began using melatonin to fall asleep sooner because I usually go to bed super late and I need to be up even earlier before than last semester I am in utter shock as I did not expect it to have any bad side effects. Thank you for making this post I genuinely feel as if I learned something new and will be using it less.
ReplyDelete-Aaliyah Thompson.
Hi Aaliyah! I am glad that you were able to learn something new! I hope you are able to start some of the natural ways to teach your brain to sleep; although they may be hard to do with the busy life of a college student. -Payton Carroll
DeleteHi Payton. I found it interesting that some melatonin supplements contain serotonin. I am not a hormone expert but I thought serotonin would be contradictory to the effect of melatonin. I think that taking large doses of serotonin analogues prevents one from feeling sleepy but I am not totally sure. Thank you for sharing this interesting post. - Calvin Keating
ReplyDeleteAwesome writing, Payton! I think this news is extremely relevant to our generation, specifically to people around our college age. I think we often forget how important melatonin is in maintaining our circadian rhythm. With this being said, increased screen time is definitely a scary component of daily life because of how it can really trick our bodies into thinking it is earlier than it actually is, thus delaying sleep which comes with its own set of risk factors. We should definitely learn from this and limit screen time past a certain time in the evening!
ReplyDeleteThis post is so interesting! I have always wondered about melatonin, I've taken it before but only if I am trying to fall asleep a lot earlier than I usually do. I feel like some people are starting to gain a dependence on it, causing melatonin to lose its effects of helping people fall asleep. I also didn't know the melatonin production is affected by light, and that just by making lifestyle changes, your body can be trained to naturally produce more.
ReplyDelete