Melatonin is a natural hormone that regulates sleep. During daylight, the pineal gland in the brain produces an important neurotransmitter called serotonin. (A neurotransmitter is a chemical that relays messages between nerve cells.) But at night, the pineal gland stops producing serotonin and instead makes melatonin. This melatonin release helps trigger sleep.
The production of melatonin varies according to the amount of light you're exposed to; for example, your body produces more melatonin in a completely dark room than in a dimly lit one.
Melatonin supplements appear to be helpful for people whose natural sleep cycle has been disturbed, such as travelers suffering from jet lag. The hormone may also be helpful in various other sleep disorders.
Based on early reports that melatonin levels decline with age, the hormone was briefly marketed as a kind of fountain of youth. However, newer evidence suggests that melatonin levels do not decline with age after all. 1 There is a lot of evidence that melatonin can help prevent melanoma, and also help fight melanoma tumors and stop them from spreading. Read more about melanoma and melatonin Other potential benefits of melatonin remain largely speculative. Very weak evidence hints that melatonin might be helpful for functional dyspepsia (chronic indigestion of unknown cause). 2
There is a wide range of evidence that high doses of melatonin can help prevent melanoma, and also can help kill melanoma tumors and help stop them from spreading. See below for a partial listing of studies, some on animals and some on people, supporting the use of melatonin in fighting melanoma. You can all also search PubMed.gov for "melanoma melatonin".
It has also been shown that the amount of melatonin taken affects its effectiveness. It is not known what the "ideal" amount to be taken should be, however, many doctors who use melatonin for melanoma treatment will suggest something in the range of 20mg per night. It is best to take it at night because it causes drowsiness.
(1) On the Role of Melatonin in Skin Physiology and Pathology A. Slominski,1 T. W. Fischer,1,2 M. A. Zmijewski,1 J. Wortsman,3 I. Semak,4 B. Zbytek,1,5 R. M. Slominski,1 and D. J. Tobin6. Endocrine. 2005 July; 27(2): 137–148.
(2) Melatonin therapy of advanced human malignant melanoma. Gonzalez R, Sanchez A, Ferguson JA, Balmer C, Daniel C, Cohn A, Robinson WA. Melanoma Res. 1991 Nov-Dec;1(4):237-43. Division of Medical Oncology, University of Colorado Cancer Center, Denver 80262.
(3) Direct antiproliferative effects of melatonin on two metastatic cell sublines of mouse melanoma (B16BL6 and PG19). Cos, S.*; Garcia-Bolado, A.; Sánchez-Barceló, E. J. Melanoma Research: April 2001 - Volume 11 - Issue 2 - pp 197-201
(4) Melatonin decreases cell proliferation and induces melanogenesis in human melanoma SK-MEL-1 cells. Javier Cabrera1,2, Gledy Negrín2,3, Francisco Estévez2,3, Juan Loro1,2, Russel J. Reiter4, José Quintana2,3. Journal of Pineal Research, Volume 49, Issue 1, pages 45–54, August 2010
(5) MT-1 melatonin receptor expression increases the antiproliferative effect of melatonin on S-91 murine melanoma cells. Kadekaro AL, Andrade LN, Floeter-Winter LM, Rollag MD, Virador V, Vieira W, Castrucci AM. J Pineal Res. 2004 Apr;36(3):204-11.
(6) CANCER RESEARCH 45,4175-4177, September 1985. Effect of Melatonin on B16 Melanoma Growth in Athymic Mice Takeo Marita1and Hajime Kudo. Second Department of Pathology, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Hirosaki, 036 Japan
There is a wide range of evidence that high doses of melatonin can help prevent melanoma, and also can help kill melanoma tumors and help stop them from spreading. See below for a partial listing of studies, some on animals and some on people, supporting the use of melatonin in fighting melanoma. You can also search PubMed.gov for "melanoma melatonin".
It has also been shown that the amount of melatonin taken affects its effectiveness. It is not known what the "ideal" amount to be taken should be, however, many doctors who use melatonin for melanoma treatment will suggest something in the range of 20mg per night. It is best to take it at night because it causes drowsiness.
I use melatonin regularly for help with sleep. I only need to take between 1-3mg about 30 minutes before I want to go to sleep and it works very well -- I rarely have trouble falling asleep afterwards. Its particularly helpful in fighting jet lag and resetting your "internal sleep clock" after you've landed in a new time zone.
My wife also uses melatonin in the prevention and treatment of melanoma. She had stage 4 melanoma and one of the best integrative health doctors who we were working with, recommended it. He prescribed 20mg per night for her. I did my own research and found a lot of very credible evidence and studies that suggested that it really does help fight melanoma. She's shown no evidence of melanoma for 4 years and still takes the melatonin regularly. This is one of my top 4 recommended herbs/supplements for fighting melanoma.
I use melatonin regularly for help with sleep. I only need to take between 1-3mg about 30 minutes before I want to go to sleep and it works very well -- I rarely have trouble falling asleep...
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