Melatonin and its deficiency in the body. What is melatonin. Effects and benefits

We want to fall asleep from time to time. Melatonin is released cyclically to help the body regulate the sleep-wake cycle. Its amount decreases with age, and it is suspected that this is the reason why young people are less likely to suffer from sleep problems than the elderly.

What is the benefit of melatonin?

There are currently many scientific research dedicated to melatonin. They are associated with its antioxidant properties, effects on immunity. However, the exact mechanism of action of melatonin in the human body is not yet known in detail, and requires a number of further studies.

Who benefits the most?

What are mg (milligram) and mcg (microgram), and what is the difference between these units?

• 1 microgram = 1 microgram = one millionth of a gram (1/1000000);
• 1 mg = 1 milligram = one thousandth of a gram (1/1000);
• 1 mg = 1000 mcg.

Side effects

Additional effects

Contraindications

Life Extension

Melatonin deficiency as a cause of early aging - video

Melatonin improves sex life?

Can melatonin poison you?

What time to take?

Does melatonin cause lethargy and drowsiness in the morning?

Hormone production methods

The best is considered to be a drug made in a factory from pharmaceutically pure ingredients. molecular structure of such melatonin is identical to the structure of the hormone produced by the body itself. In addition, it is absolutely free from any contamination.

“Truly, with inaudible steps, he comes to me - the most pleasant of thieves, and steals my thoughts, and I freeze in place,” Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, speaking about such a vital function for human health as sleep. Responsible for it, protecting against disease, stress, obesity and aging, such a natural sleeping pill as melatonin, the sleep hormone.

The sleep hormone melatonin performs paramount functions: it is responsible for healthy sleep, and also slows down the aging process in adults, regulates metabolism, prevents the accumulation of fat, and also helps to properly form and develop the body of babies.

Melatonin: the sleep hormone - Morpheus' attorney

Melatonin (in other words, the sleep hormone) is involved in many different functions and processes in our body. The most important of these are three: melatonin is responsible for our sleep, wakefulness and metabolism.

Melatonin is produced by the pineal gland, located in human brain. Its production is stimulated by darkness and suppressed by light. That is why, in the run-up to dusk, we tend to feel the need to take a nap and some fatigue, and in the bright light of the day we usually find it difficult to fall asleep.

But the sleep hormone melatonin is produced in our body not only with the onset of darkness (inclining literally words us to sleep and rest), but also during the night (while it is still dark outside the window; or during the time when our brain “thinks” that it is night outside).

A reasonable question arises: if the human body is placed in a dark cave without a single ray of white light, does it turn out that the body (under the constant action of the hormone melatonin) will sleep all the time, while not aging, preserving youth and charming harmony?

I wish it was, but no. Nature took care and even provided for such cases: from the existence of people in conditions of polar day and night to the presence of "dark" professions (for example, miners, miners, metro workers, etc.). It turns out that in addition to the reaction to light and dark time days, our body also has its own special internal “timer” that regulates the time of sleep and wakefulness.

Even with an extreme degree of "wear and tear" (physical and emotional load, muscle tension etc.) - that is, fatigue - the body will sleep in the dark, perhaps for a day, or even two. But, having regained his strength, he will still wake up, "launching" the wakefulness mode forcibly, regardless of whether it is dark or light outside the window.

The sleep hormone melatonin: consisted, participated, was noticed...

The sleep hormone has been shown to be involved in the regulation of circadian rhythms - the 24-hour wake-sleep cycle, which roughly corresponds to the length of day and night - as well as in the regulation of other bodily functions, some of which are related to metabolism.

So, melatonin performs the following functions:

• facilitates falling asleep, restores the rhythm of sleep;
• has anti-stress properties;
• slows down the aging process in cells;
• reinforces defensive forces organism (immunity);
• takes part in regulation blood pressure, functions of the gastrointestinal tract, the work of brain cells;
• has an antitumor effect;
• relieves some types of headaches;
• participates in the regulation of body weight (stimulates the production of some other hormones during sleep, which, in turn, ensure the process of proper breakdown of fats).

Melatonin is primarily responsible for falling asleep. No wonder it is called the sleep hormone. And with a lack of melatonin, we actually get into vicious circle: there is a lack of a hormone - sleep does not come, we cannot fall asleep - the production of melatonin is completely disturbed ...

With a relatively calm rhythm of life (when we do not fly from continent to continent three times a month, do not work in a mine for 12-15 hours, do not go for walks under the moon, etc.), our body gradually gets used to a certain daily routine and night. And the production of the sleep hormone melatonin literally "works like clockwork."

Night falls, wakes up... melatonin

When the sun goes down pineal gland activates and begins to produce melatonin, which is released into the blood. As soon as the level of the sleep hormone in the blood rises, the concentration of a person's attention drops, we begin to fall asleep. Blood levels of melatonin remain elevated for about twelve hours and then return to low daily levels, which studies show are barely noticeable.

The sleep hormone melatonin is produced in sufficient quantities only in conditions of total darkness. The peak production of the sleep hormone falls on the time interval from midnight to 4 o'clock in the morning.

If we regularly go to bed no earlier than 3-4 in the morning, the production of melatonin in our body drops sharply. As well as in situations where, due to work, frequent flights, or, for example, in the first year of motherhood, we have to go to bed at different times.

With a lack of melatonin

Various studies show that a lack of melanin is fraught with rapid aging, early, decreased insulin sensitivity, the development of obesity and the formation of cancerous tumors.

What causes this deficiency? Various factors, the most common and obvious of which are:

• sleep in daylight;

However, do not think that sleeping during the day is harmful. By no means! But extremely useful during daytime sleep either tightly draw the curtains, or use a sleep mask.

• wakefulness at night;
• plentiful and heavy food at night;
• the season of white nights, polar days, etc.
• frequent jet lag and sleep disturbance.

In all these cases, as well as with age, the need for melatonin, a hormone responsible for many processes in the body, increases, so it is recommended to take it additionally, in the form of drugs or dietary supplements.

In addition, some nutritionists and sports physicians advise their clients to take melatonin supplements to lose weight. What is the meaning and connection between overweight and sleep hormone?

In fact, the connection is direct and strong! The results of many studies have confirmed: if we sleep for 7-9 hours every night, falling asleep no later than midnight, our metabolism is normal, the body does not need additional calories; accordingly - we eat less during the day and have no problems with overweight. And vice versa: with a lack of sleep (which is directly related to the production of melatonin), we eat up to 500 extra calories per day due to fast carbohydrates, from which in the end we get fat.

In addition, the sleep hormone melatonin not only regulates metabolism, but also helps to maintain enough so-called brown fat.

Scientists have determined that fat in the human body is not homogeneous. There is white fat - it is passive and stored only in the form of accumulations. And there is brown fat (as a rule, it is 1% of total mass body of an adult) - it is active and it is brown fat cells that are responsible for thermal exchange, constantly processing calories entering the body into energy and heat.

Studying the characteristics of white and brown fat, scientists have noticed that the cells of both can transform into cells of a “brother”. That is, under certain circumstances, white, static fat can turn into active brown (and then the body will spend more calories even while in calm state). And vice versa - brown fat cells can lose the thermogenin protein, which will turn them into useless white fat, which is the object of hatred of all people who want to lose weight.

Finally, scientists have determined that one of the main factors affecting, while reverse process- the formation of white fat in place of brown - directly depends on the deficiency of melatonin. The less melatonin our body produces, the faster we get fat.

It is with this that the assertion that lack of sleep leads to obesity is connected. At the same time, it was noticed Feedback- when a sufficient amount of melatonin is restored in the body, the ratio of white and brown fats gradually returns to normal, which helps to fight against extra pounds and swollen waist.

Melatonin in a tablet

So, at the age of 35, it is useful to take melatonin in a course - 1-1.5 g per night in summer and autumn, 2-3 times a week. And, of course, it’s good to sleep at night, and not sit at the computer or have fun at night parties. But even if you finished work only at 4 in the morning, it is useful to take a melatonin pill - the sleep hormone will help you fall asleep faster, and at the same time get the required daily amount of it.

Melatonin is also a hormone that helps to painlessly cope with jet lag. Arriving in another country, take 1.5 g of melatonin at a new place before going to bed - this will help you fall asleep faster and in the morning you will feel alert and full of energy. The same procedure should be done when returning home.

Like melatonin medicinal product there are practically no contraindications, but at the same time, some people are still better off avoiding its use. These are primarily diabetics (due to the incompatibility of taking melatonin with antidiabetic drugs), pregnant and lactating women, as well as people prone to depression.

Melatonin is produced in humans as naturally, and enters the body with food. This sleep hormone is called the source of youth and longevity. It is necessary for proper life activity, since it not only controls natural biorhythms, but is also a powerful antioxidant that eliminates free radicals.

Why not do without melatonin?

Hormone favors sound sleep, during which there is a renewal and "repair" of body cells. Melatonin is capable of:

• ensure the proper functioning of the endocrine system;
• reduce the rate of aging;
• to help human body adapt to changing time zones;
• support the immune system, preventing the development of serious diseases;
• fight free radicals that destroy cell membranes;
• lower the level nervous excitement with stress and depression;
• normalize arterial pressure and work of the gastrointestinal tract;
• protect against destruction of brain cells.

With an insufficient amount of this hormone, human aging accelerates, the skin withers, begins to be deposited. excess fat increases the risk of cancer, especially breast cancer. Of course, these dangerous phenomena usually caused by a combination negative factors, but the lack of sleep hormone increases the risk of their manifestation at times.

Do not confuse melatonin and melanin. The latter is a pigment found in skin cells and protects the body from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation.

It is impossible to accumulate the hormone melatonin for the future, therefore regular quality sleep and complete nutrition.

Where does the vital hormone come from?

Melatonin is produced by the pineal gland (pineal gland). at first sunlight, acting on an amino acid called tryptophan, turns it into serotonin. And then, based on serotonin, a useful hormone is produced at night. But it is not correct to think that melatonin is produced only at night. During daylight hours, this process also goes on, but very slowly. And for health, this amount is clearly not enough.

But not only the pineal gland produces the hormone of health and longevity. Cells and other organs are connected to the production:

• digestion;
• breathing;
• excretory and circulatory systems.

So they are able to synthesize the hormone in daytime. But the main department - the pineal gland - is able to conduct normal production only during sleep. At the same time, you must comply certain conditions. In order to saturate the body with a valuable hormone, a person should sleep only in the dark.

The increase and decrease in the concentration of the hormone depends on the number of light pulses entering the brain through the retina of the organs of vision. This value increases with the onset of darkness. During sleep, the pineal gland synthesizes more than seventy percent of the melatonin necessary for life. It is important that sleep occurs no later than midnight, because from zero to four in the morning is the best period for activity. pineal gland for the production of melatonin.

For health, an adult requires 30 micrograms of a valuable substance per day. Sleep at night allows you to meet this standard. But if you spend this period awake, or take a nap in the light, then two nights of “dark” sleep will be needed to replenish.

How else can you get a valuable substance?

Additionally, some foods saturate us with the hormone. In its finished form, it is found in tomatoes, parsley, bananas, corn, carrots, figs, raisins, Hercules porridge, rice. But some foods contain the elements necessary for the synthesis of melatonin.

What else should be included in the diet to prolong youth:

The production of melatonin in the human body is reduced not only by exposure to light. Negatively affects the synthesis of smoking, drinking alcohol, coffee, as well as some medicines, for example, paracetamol, beta-blockers, sleeping pills and antidepressants. Night parties with alcohol intake - the right way ensure premature aging.

How to increase the level of beneficial hormone?

At optimal mode a hundred and rest at a man naturally produces melatonin and protects against unpleasant symptoms early old age. What needs to be done to level beneficial hormone didn't go down:

1. Go to bed before midnight.
2. When forced to sleep during the day, for example, after a night shift, close the windows with thick curtains or wear a special mask.
3. Turn off the TV, computer and other sources of light and noise.
4. At evening rest, minimize the brightness of the lighting.
5. When working in shifts, choose the option in three days to allow the body to recover at night. This is especially true for women.
6. Include foods that stimulate the production of melatonin in your diet.

Blackout curtains on the windows and sleep masks are necessary for residents of the northern regions during the white nights, as well as for those who permanently live in megacities. bright beams advertising banners can negatively affect the synthesis of a valuable hormone.

The lack of melatonin in young people is practically not felt, but with age, the regimen must be monitored especially carefully. To improve hormone production after forty, it is worth taking special pharmacological preparations and biologically active additives. It is worth choosing them on the recommendation of a doctor, since such drugs have contraindications. So, they should not be used by pregnant women, allergy sufferers and children.

Such drugs and supplements will support people who are forced to work at night, fly to another country with a change in time zones. They are sometimes recommended soft remedy from insomnia and during the polar day in the regions of the Far North.

"Dream - the best medicine"," you need to sleep with grief "- these folk wisdom absolutely right. Many scientific studies confirm: who sleeps a lot, he lives longer and get sick less.

NIGHT CONDUCTOR

It is at night that 70% of the daily amount of melatonin is produced - a hormone that protects us from stress and premature aging from colds and even cancer. It is he who regulates - helps to adapt to the change of day and night, sends animals into hibernation and drives us to bed after dark. Hormone production begins to rise at dusk, reaches a maximum from 0 to 4.00 in the morning and falls with dawn. We fall into sleep, and melatonin gets to work - restores, repairs, strengthens ... After all, it is one of the most powerful natural immunomodulators and antioxidants, the most powerful scavenger of free radicals - unstable molecules that, by destroying DNA, cells and tissues, contribute to the development of cancer and heart disease.

"If the pineal gland (the gland that produces this hormone) is likened biological clock, then melatonin is a pendulum that ensures their movement, - explains Professor Vladimir ANISIMOV, President of the Gerontological Society of the Russian Academy of Sciences. “As you know, the smaller the amplitude of the pendulum, the sooner the clock mechanism will stop.” With age, the production of melatonin decreases, and this is a signal to all other body systems that it is time to give up, it’s time to grow old.

This, of course, is only one of the factors of aging, but a very significant one. Experiments on laboratory animals have shown that with elongation daylight hours they began to age faster: menopause began earlier, free radical cell damage accumulated, insulin sensitivity decreased, obesity and cancer developed. The life expectancy also decreased by 20% in hamsters with an artificially disturbed rhythm of melatonin production.

With the introduction of melatonin to elderly mice, their lifespan increased by 25% - this was shown by studies conducted by a group of Italian scientists.

On humans, such experiments, of course, are not carried out. But compelling data from other large studies show that people who are forced to work regularly at night, which means they are chronically deficient in melatonin, have a 40-60% higher risk of developing coronary heart disease and metabolic syndrome - a combination of obesity, hypertension, diabetes and atherosclerosis. - in a word, a bouquet that shortens our lives.

DON'T INTERFER WITH THE PIANIST

Did you sit up long after midnight at the computer, read a book until the morning, or had fun at a party? In general, are you used to sleeping with a night lamp or under the light of the city lights at night through the curtains that are not drawn? Rest assured: the right amount you didn't get melatonin.

Scientists believe that it is excessive illumination that shortens the life of residents of large cities, and even introduced a special term “light pollution”.

Even worse is the case for residents of the northern regions. Too short white nights leave them practically no chance to get enough of an important hormone. While a person is young, this does not significantly affect health. But when the production of melatonin begins to naturally decline, it makes sense to take it additionally.

According to Vladimir Anisimov, such prevention is useful for all people over 35 years old. It is better to take melatonin in a course - in summer and autumn - 1-1.5 mg exclusively at night. How many times a week - it does not matter, you can 2-3 or more if you suffer from insomnia. After all, melatonin, not being a sleeping pill, facilitates falling asleep, reduces the number of nocturnal awakenings.

Do you have an emergency? Take melatonin even if you go to bed at 4 am. You will receive the required daily amount of the hormone, and you will fall asleep faster - after all, overwork causes, including insomnia.

MEDICINE FOR TRAVELERS

With the help of melatonin, you can quickly reset your biological clock after flying across several time zones. To adjust to a new daily regimen, having arrived at the place, take 1.5 g of melatonin at night. And you can fall asleep, and the whole next day you will be more cheerful. Do the same when you return home.

Americans have long appreciated the practical benefits of melatonin. In the US, many older people regularly take the drug to improve sleep and well-being.

"There are no side effects from seasonal intake in such small doses. No addiction develops, and the production of one's own hormone does not decrease," adds Semyon Rapoport, doctor medical sciences, Professor MMA them. I. M. Sechenova, Chairman of the Commission "Chronobiology and Chronomedicine" RAMS .

Melatonin is contraindicated in diabetics (does not combine well with antidiabetic drugs), pregnant and lactating women, children under 16 years of age, those who are prone to depression, and also with autoimmune diseases and in rare cases allergies to melatonin.

EXTRAORDINARY OPPORTUNITIES

But scientists are interested not only in the preventive effect of the sleep hormone. "Today, there is already convincing evidence to recommend melatonin for the treatment of coronary disease heart, hypertension, peptic ulcer. We introduced melatonin into the treatment regimens for hypertensive patients and heart patients, and this made it possible to reduce usual dose drugs, - says Semyon Rapoport. - I really hope that soon it will be included in a wide clinical practice". Apparently, this will happen after the completion of the next major study, which will soon be launched by scientists from the MMA. Sechenov, the Department of Embryology of Moscow State University and the Institute of Developmental Biology of the Academy of Sciences. In the course of it, it is planned to establish, among other things, a more accurate dependence of the quality of life on the production of melatonin.

The most promising effect of melatonin is in the fight against breast cancer, a tumor associated with increased level female hormones estrogen.

The fact is that the “hormone of the night” inhibits their production, which means that the less melatonin, the higher the risk of getting sick. Scientists even calculated the dependence of this risk on night habits:

Excessive night illumination harms everyone, but women are more affected than men. Large studies conducted in Denmark, Finland, and the USA have shown that long work night shift increases the risk of breast cancer in women 30-54 years of age.

The potential role of melatonin in the fight against oncological diseases is now being actively studied. Has already positive results, but the effectiveness of the method has not yet been clinically confirmed, so one should not place unreasonable hopes on a new “cure for cancer”, scientists warn.

5 HELPFUL NIGHT TIPS

1. Draw blackout curtains at night.
2. Don't sleep with a night light or TV on.
3. When getting up at night, do not turn on the light. To illuminate the toilet, a dim night lamp that plugs into an outlet is enough.
4. If you stay up late, the lighting of the room should be dim and certainly not a fluorescent lamp.
5. Try to fall asleep no later than midnight: the maximum melatonin is produced from 0 to 4 in the morning.

Melatonin is the main hormone of the pineal gland (pineal gland). It's biologically active substance affects all systems in the human body.

The pineal gland is a small part of the brain that plays a huge role in harmonizing metabolic processes and activities nervous system. It connects the visual perceiving apparatus (the retina of the eye) and every cell of the body.

Melatonin synthesis

The complex process of biological synthesis of melatonin occurs mainly in the pineal gland. The precursor of this hormone is the neurotransmitter serotonin.

Required trigger condition chemical reaction conversion of serotonin to melatonin - darkness.

Thus, the concentration of the hormone increases precisely after the end of daylight hours. A particularly significant level of melatonin in the blood is recorded after midnight and before dawn. In winter, this interval is longer than in summer for natural reasons.

The production of the hormone melatonin is a chemical signal from the pineal gland to all body systems that night has come.

Melatonin and night rest

As the sun sets, the metabolism and activity of the central nervous system changes. In many ways, these changes occur due to the action of the pineal gland hormone melatonin.

Literally until the beginning of the previous century, the only normal option for sleep and wakefulness was the natural following of biological clocks. People got up at dawn, actively worked during the day, went to bed after sunset. Artificial lighting was used very limitedly. Wakefulness after midnight and even more so before dawn was an absolutely rare occurrence.

AT modern world sleep and wakefulness are further and further away from natural biological rhythms. Nighttime rest is reduced to a minimum. Many work schedules generally involve active wakefulness after midnight and sleep only during the morning and afternoon hours.

Unfortunately, such abnormal human body sleep and wake schedules, negatively affect general health and functions of the central nervous system.

Melatonin is practically not produced in the pineal gland during the day, even during sleep. Its lack of concentration prevents you from having a good rest both physically and psychologically.

A low level of melatonin disrupts the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary system, adversely affects the processes of memory and learning, metabolism.

Functions of melatonin

In the epiphysis with the onset of darkness, blood flow is activated. This gland assumes the role of leader in endocrine system at the time of rest. Its main hormone melatonin regulates all body processes during a night's sleep.

Hormone functions:

• inhibition of excessive excitation in the central nervous system;
• ensuring falling asleep and maintaining sleep;
• activation of immunity;
• decrease in the level of systemic arterial pressure;
• hypoglycemic effect (lowering blood sugar);
• hypolipidemic effect (lowering cholesterol in the blood);
• increase in potassium concentration.

Melatonin is one of the sleep inducing substances. Its drugs are used to treat some forms of insomnia.

In addition, this hormone is considered one of the most powerful antioxidants. Its action at night contributes to the restoration of damaged cells and inhibition of the aging process of the body.

The function of lowering glycemia and blood cholesterol is necessary to prevent metabolic syndrome (combination diabetes, hypertension and atherosclerosis).

Melatonin prolongs life expectancy. Scientists suggest that high concentrations of the hormone may contribute to longevity and good health even after 60-70 years.

The hormone prevents the appearance and growth malignant tumors. This function is performed by influencing the synthesis growth hormone, which in high concentrations contributes to the development of cancer.

Melatonin has been proven to be essential for normal functioning psychological processes. Lack of the hormone provokes depression and anxiety.

Measures to Normalize Melatonin Levels

most effective measure to increase melatonin in the blood is correct mode day. Recommended:

• early rise;
• going to bed before midnight;
• night rest about 6-8 hours;
• study in the first shift;
• work without night shifts.

If circumstances permit, then it is preferable to increase the hormone in this way. Return to natural rhythm sleep and wakefulness will positively affect health and well-being in a few days.

You can increase melatonin with the help of a special diet. The diet should include foods containing essential amino acids(tryptophan). It is especially important to complement them with dinner.

Dishes that increase the concentration of melatonin:

• nuts;
• legumes;
• meat;
• fish;
• bird;
• dairy.

In addition, the pharmaceutical industry now has means to increase melatonin. Some of these medicines are registered as medicines, while others are considered biologically active additives to food.

Pineal hormone preparations

Melatonin preparations are used to correct sleep disorders. For this purpose, they are prescribed in the evening hours for a course of up to several weeks.

In addition, melatonin is used for depression, low performance, decreased memory and intellectual functions. The most widely prescribed pills contain an artificial analogue of human melatonin.

Pineal hormones of animal origin have a similar effect. It is believed that such medicines have a strong immunostimulating effect.

Any preparations of pineal hormones are quite serious means. They should be used only on the recommendation of the attending physician (therapist, endocrinologist, neurologist). During treatment, it is necessary laboratory control basic body functions (blood tests for hormones, transaminases, lipids and glucose).