By Steven E. Todd DMD, MaS
I’m taking a deep dive into melatonin today. I will be discussing:
1. What is melatonin?
2. What does melatonin do and not do for sleep?
3. How can we think about melatonin supplementation?
What is Melatonin?
Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone, not a vitamin.
The gut contains 400 times more melatonin than the pineal gland, and melatonin in the gut shows no photoperiodic cyclical secretion.1 This is in contrast to melatonin produced by the pineal gland in the brain, which is released in response to darkness and provides a circadian and seasonal signal in humans and other vertebrates.2
From sundown to sunrise, the total concentration of melatonin dripped from the pineal gland each night is approximately 30 micrograms.3
Melatonin is sometimes called the “vampire hormone” or the “hormone of darkness” because it is released at night.
However, there is a problem in modern society. Many of us get too much artificial or ambient light and not enough darkness, which stops melatonin production.
Sleep apnea can also inhibit melatonin production.4
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What Does Melatonin Do and Not Do for Sleep?
Melatonin just helps sleep to start.5 It doesn’t keep you asleep. Imagine a 100-meter race on a track. The starter, melatonin, fires the gun, but the starter, melatonin, does not actually participate in the race.
How to Think About Melatonin Supplementation
Melatonin supplements, available over-the-counter in the United States, are traditionally administered orally but have poor and variable absorption by the body.
A systemic review found intranasal administration of melatonin to have “large potential.” The authors add, “Transdermal application of melatonin has a possible use in a local application, due to slow absorption and deposition in the skin. Oral transmucosal administration may potentially be a clinically relevant due to avoiding first-pass metabolism.” By contrast, subcutaneous injection of melatonin did not document any advantages.6
This article is not to be construed as medical advice in any prescriptive way.
Steven E. Todd, DMD, MaS, practices integrative sleep medicine in Foley, Alabama. He is on the medical advisory board of Zilis LLC. Zilis sells UltraDream, a patented proprietary water-soluble blend of melatonin, GABA, and chamomile extract. Contact him at [email protected] and www.gulfcoastsleepspecialist.com.
References
- Chen CQ, Fichna J, Bashashati M, et al. Distribution, function and physiological role of melatonin in the lower gut. World J Gastroenterol. 2011 Sep 14;17(34):3888-98.
- Masters A, Pandi-Perumal SR, Seixas A, et al. Melatonin, the hormone of darkness: from sleep promotion to ebola treatment. Brain Disord Ther. 2014;4(1):1000151.
- Nichols DE. N,N-dimethyltryptamine and the pineal gland: Separating fact from myth. J Psychopharmacol. 2018 Jan;32(1):30-6.
- Karel P, Schilperoord M, Reichman LJA, Krabbe JG. The dark side of apnea: altered 24-hour melatonin secretion in obstructive sleep apnea (OSAS) is disease severity dependent. Sleep Breath. 2024 Aug;28(4):1751-9.
- Savage RA, Zafar N, Yohannan S, et al. Melatonin. [Updated 2024 Feb 9]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from:
- Zetner D, Andersen LP, Rosenberg J. Pharmacokinetics of alternative administration routes of melatonin: a systematic review. Drug Res (Stuttg). 2016 Apr;66(4):169-73.
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