There are two types of melatonin — a supplement taken to improve sleep and a naturally-occurring hormone produced in the brain. Learn more and improve your sleep.
In this, the first of a three-part video series from an interview with Dr. Paula Witt-Enterby, she shares what women in their 40s and 50s should know about melatonin. Full transcript below.
More from Interviews with Dr. Witt-Enderby: Dont’s for Better Sleep, Supplementing with Melatonin – When and How To. and Q&A with Dr. Paula Witt-Enderby
And here is What you Need to Know About Melatonin from the National Institutes of Health Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.
Transcript
Welcome to Interviews with experts, today we share the first in a 3-part series from our interview with Dr. Paula Witt-Enderby. Dr. Witt-Enderby is a Professor of Pharmacology at Duquesne University. She has a Ph.D. in pharmacology and toxicology and teaches pharmacy students about endocrinology and endocrine-based drug therapies. She also researches the effect of melatonin in the body as it relates to bone and breast cancer. She is Board Certified by the National Ayurvedic Medical Association.
In this video, Dr. Witt-Enterby talks about what women in their 40s and 50s should know about melatonin
As you watch this video, keep in mind, that while melatonin is best known as a supplement that people take to help with sleep. Melatonin is also a hormone made by the pineal gland in our brains. In today’s clip, we will be talking about this naturally occurring form made in our bodies.
There is a misnomer about melatonin. They always call it the hormone of sleep but it’s not the hormone of sleep, it’s really the hormone of darkness. So what that means is that melatonin is triggered at the onset of darkness when our retinas can no longer perceive light. We have melatonin because it tells our bodies it’s nighttime this is when you should be sleeping. This is daytime, this is when you should be active.
What’s most important is that it trains our circadian rhythms (sleep-wake cycles) to the light-dark cycles. When we have light exposure at night – light suppresses your melatonin levels – that is what causes a lot of problems in our bodies. It’s not just good enough to sleep, you want to sleep in the dark.
Sleep disruption is the biggest issue. It is important to maintain healthy rhythms in the body by getting enough natural sunlight during the day like try and get outdoors more and to get dark sleep at night.
With age, our nocturnal melatonin levels go down. So like I said, it’s so like I said it’s the hormone of darkness so the lack of light stimulates its production. So we should get these peaks at night like between two and four am. But happens with age and it actually happens a lot during the menopausal transition, especially in the first 15 years when you are transitioning, your nocturnal bump of melatonin goes down.
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