{"id":15227,"date":"2022-06-09T17:44:41","date_gmt":"2022-06-09T17:44:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/?p=15227"},"modified":"2023-01-09T17:09:28","modified_gmt":"2023-01-09T17:09:28","slug":"what-is-melatonin-an-intro-from-a-nutritionist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/what-is-melatonin-an-intro-from-a-nutritionist\/","title":{"rendered":"What is melatonin? An intro from a nutritionist"},"content":{"rendered":"One sheep, two sheep, three sheep\u2026sound familiar? Some people are lucky enough to fall asleep as soon as their head hits the pillow, but for others, getting quality sleep can be a real challenge. And if you struggle with sleep, you may have considered trying melatonin \u2013 but what exactly is it? And how does it help? \u00a0Let\u2019s find out!\u00a0What is melatonin?\u00a0Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone that your body produces mainly in the pineal gland, right in the center of your brain. It\u2019s known as your sleep hormone because it plays an important role in your body\u2019s circadian rhythm\u2014your natural sleep-wake cycle\u2014helping nudge your body into sleep mode.1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0How does melatonin help?\u00a0Melatonin is often referred to as the \u2018hormone of darkness\u2019 because it\u2019s secreted at night. During the day, sunlight deactivates your pineal gland, causing melatonin levels to drop and making you feel energized. In the evening, your pineal gland comes back online, once again making and releasing melatonin, causing levels to slowly rise and making you feel tired. Your melatonin generally peaks in the middle of the night\u2014when you should be sound asleep\u2014and then gradually falls after that.2\u00a0If you find yourself tossing and turning some nights, supplementing with melatonin may help by promoting restful sleep and restoring a healthy sleep schedule. But understand that it works more like a dimmer than an on\/off switch; it won\u2019t put you out immediately, but rather tells your body it\u2019s time to get ready for bed. It\u2019s thought to be especially helpful if you travel often and experience jet lag or work night shifts.3\u00a0\u00a0PRO TIP: Take melatonin at least an hour before settling into bed. This gives your body the time it needs to digest and absorb the supplement, ensuring it&#8217;s at the right level in the wee hours of the night!\u00a0Is melatonin safe?\u00a0Melatonin supplements are generally considered safe, as long as you take it in small doses (0.5-3mg) for a short period of time.4 Taking it long-term or at too high a dose may make you dependent and potentially override your body\u2019s natural melatonin production. If you\u2019ve found melatonin helpful for sleep, it\u2019s best to take a break after a month or so.\u00a0Does melatonin have benefits other than sleep?\u00a0This might surprise you: Besides its ability to help regulate your body\u2019s internal clock, melatonin is also a potent antioxidant that fights harmful free radicals and promotes a healthy inflammatory response. This can be good for your immune system and even your eye health!2,5\u00a0\u00a0Is melatonin found in food?\u00a0We usually think about melatonin as a supplement, but it can also be found in your pantry! Some good food sources include: Tart cherries, goji berries, eggs, milk, nuts and fish.3 These won\u2019t necessarily make you sleepy, but they can help support your body\u2019s melatonin production.\u00a0About Briana\u00a0Briana is a Nutritionist with a degree in Nutritional Sciences from Mansfield University of Pennsylvania. She has a passion for educating others about the importance of Nutrition, and the power of a progressive relationship with diet and wellness.\u00a0\u00a0Do you have questions on how you may benefit from supplements? Reach out to one of our experts, or take Persona\u2019s free nutrition assessment, and learn exactly what you need to take your wellness to the next level.\u00a0\u00a0*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.\u00a0\u00a0This information is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional, or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging. Do not use the information from this article for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing medication or other treatment. Always speak with your physician or other healthcare professional before taking any medication or nutritional, herbal, or homeopathic supplement, or using any treatment for a health problem. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, contact your health care provider promptly. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking professional advice because of something you have read in this article.\u00a0\u00a0","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One sheep, two sheep, three sheep\u2026sound familiar? Some people are lucky enough to fall asleep as soon as their head hits the pillow, but for others, getting quality sleep can be a real challenge. And if you struggle with sleep,","protected":false},"author":453,"featured_media":15231,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1821,1825,1891,1941],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sleep","category-stress-mood","category-vitamin-101","category-vitamin-101-sleep"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/453"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15227"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15227\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15237,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15227\/revisions\/15237"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}