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Introduction:
I have been wanting to make a thread on melatonin for a while, really since I found out about it's other uses - besides sleep of course.
In my opinion, it is one of the most versatile and interesting 'readily available' supplement.
All of the information in this thread were things I found through my independent research, nothing was taken from other users
of the forum - or more importantly, none of it was taken from ChatGPT or through use of any sort of AI assistance.
What Is Melatonin?
Melatonin is a hormone your brain naturally produces, to help regulate your circadian rhythm,
which is just your sleep-wake cycle or body clock.
Its produced mainly by the pineal gland, and more is made when your body realises that it is getting dark outside,
and less is made when it is bright (like in the morning or daytime).
This is the hormone which helps to make you feel sleepy at night and awake and energetic throughout the day.
to be specific, melatonin signals your body to feel sleepy, lower body temperature slightly,
and to be less alert/or prepare for sleep.
About melatonin
NHS medicines information on melatonin – what it's used for and key facts.
www.nhs.uk
How Does It Positively Impact Sleep?
Firstly, I wanted to make it clear that melatonin is not a sedative, or anything of the sorts.
It will not knock you out, just prime you for correct sleep.
so, how exactly does it help?
the three main important factors, are that melatonin reduces neuronal firing in wake promoting areas of the brain,
as well as decreasing core body temperature (pretty important for triggering sleep).
It also works by signalling the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN - your internal body clock) that it’s nighttime.
These are the key factors for shifting the body's physiology from daytime mode to nighttime mode.
Electrophysiological effects of melatonin on mouse Per1 and non-Per1 suprachiasmatic nuclei neurones in vitro - PubMed
The master circadian pacemaker in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) regulates the nocturnal secretion of the pineal hormone melatonin. Melatonin, in turn, has feedback effects on SCN neuronal activity rhythms via high affinity G protein-coupled receptors (MT(1) and MT(2) ). However, the precise...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Melatonin receptors: role on sleep and circadian rhythm regulation - PubMed
The circadian release of the hormone melatonin is regulated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which feeds back into the nucleus to modulate sleep and circadian phase through activation of the MT(1) and/or MT(2) melatonin receptors. Considering the functions of the SCN as a sleep and...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Melatonin binds to MT1 and MT2 receptors (these are also found in the SCN/body clock),
the effect of these two receptors differ,
but in essence the activation of these two together will help you fall asleep faster,
and have a much more stable sleep pattern
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12139804
Most importantly, how does it affect each sleep cycle?
starting with where melatonin has the strongest effect, the sleep onset/transition into sleep.
Melatonin strongly shortens sleep latency, which means you will fall asleep much faster.
Meta-Analysis: Melatonin for the Treatment of Primary Sleep Disorders - PMC
To investigate the efficacy of melatonin compared to placebo in improving sleep parameters in patients with primary sleep disorders. PubMed was searched for randomized, placebo-controlled trials examining the effects of melatonin for the treatment ...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Melatonin has been shown to slightly increase the time you have in stage 1 and 2 sleep,
and this is the stabilizing phase where your body/brain fully decide to disassociate from being awake.
deep sleep is an important segment of the sleep cycle,
but unfortunately melatonin does not seem to significantly increase deep sleep.
However, it has been shown to improve the actual quality of this slow-wave sleep,
and also significantly reduce nighttime awakenings - meaning your sleep is more continuous
the most important segment, REM sleep.
Unlike some people like to argue, Melatonin does not reduce REM. That is a myth.
Melatonin can help shift REM to where it should be in the night, by correcting the timing.
It also has been shown to make REM cycles much more consistent.
(this study was in people studying with REM, I just thought it was interesting)
Melatonin in patients with reduced REM sleep duration: two randomized controlled trials - PubMed
Recent data suggest that melatonin may influence human physiology, including the sleep-wake cycle, in a time-dependent manner via the body's internal clock. Rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep expression is strongly circadian modulated, and the impact of REM sleep on primary brain functions...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
lastly, melatonin reduces nighttime arousal signals.
I didn't want to take the time to research these arousal signals correctly,
because I assume that it will not be dissimilar to things I mentioned before.
How Could It (Possibly) Be Beneficial For Heightmaxing?
This segment of the thread is largely theoretical, and based off loose evidence.
As a disclaimer, I am not suggesting any of this will work or that it is substantial, whatsoever.
If you are not interested in a theory segment, skip to the next one.
Firstly, Melatonin has shown that it can increase GH release in human (and animals, but who cares).
it acts at the hypothalamic level (reducing somatostatin tone), so growth hormone pulses could maybe be augmented.
there are human reports which show that (dose-dependently), GH rises after using melatonin.
I know this is a bad study, and not really conclusive evidence, but I wanted to include it nonetheless.
take this as you want, but melatonin also reduces aromatase activity in breast tissue
this doesn't mean much, but I guess it could indicate how melatonin acts in the body
How Could Melatonin Be Beneficial For Bone Health?
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT BELIEVE MELATONIN WILL GIVE YOU BONE MASS
this part of the thread was just made from personal interest and research.
however, there is solid evidence to support melatonin and its potential positive effect on bones (would have to be during puberty).
melatonin promotes osteogensis, and suppresses osteoclastogenesis. (in multiple cell and animal models, but so be it)
It stimulates osteoblast proliferation/differentiation, and biases mesenchymal stem cells towards bone,
as opposed to fat.
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6711668/
In theory, it should enhance matrix mineralization and angiogenesis in bone repair, and also inhibit
RANKL driven osteoclast formation.
some more recent evidence shows melatonin enhances BMP-4 induced osteogenesis, and stabilizes Osterix,
which is almost definitely a key transcription factor for late osteoblast differentiation
Melatonin promotes osteoblast differentiation by regulating Osterix protein stability and expression - Scientific Reports
Although the biological role of melatonin in osteogenic differentiation has been suggested, the mechanism of osteoblast differentiation remains unclear. Thus, the present study investigated the underlying molecular mechanisms based on osteoblast-specific transcription factors. We found that...
www.nature.com
the study below shows that melatonin helps bone-marrow stem cells to choose to become osteoblasts,
instead of becoming adipocytes/fat cells
this just means that theoretically new bone can be made.
Melatonin enhances osteoblastogenesis of senescent bone marrow stromal cells through NSD2‐mediated chromatin remodelling - PMC
Aging‐associated osteoporosis is frequently seen in the elderly in clinic, but efficient managements are limited because of unclear nosogenesis. The current study aims to investigate the role of melatonin on senescent bone marrow stromal cells ...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
This is something I will hopefully go into later, but melatonin is a potent anti-oxidant.
by lowering oxidative stress it helps to rescue osteoblast differentiation under stress and to preserve
bone forming capacity.
This may not be useful (the bone health aspects of the anti-oxidant properties) to the average person,
but several studies show melatonin reverses oxidative stress induced inhibition
of osteogenesis.
What Makes It So Incredibly Healthy? (MOST RELEVANT SEGMENT)
so, what makes melatonin one of the healthiest things you can possibly take?
firstly, melatonin is super good for protecting mitochondria from oxidative damage, stabilising
membranes and also it can improve the function of your mitochondria.
the rest of this segment will be based on the study linked at the bottom, since it is very in-depth
about the benefits from 50-200mg mega-dosages of melatonin.
All The Major Clinical Improvements:
something which I thought was very cool, is that there was a large, statistically significant drop in the
number of patients classified as hypertensive after melatonin treatment.
Cases before: 54
Cases after: 9
no cases worsened, whatsoever.
this may be irrelevant unless you are literally over the age of 50, but all 6 patients with prior ischemic heart disease were judged improved after melatonin in their clinical assessment
the change was not massive, but still significant.
melatonin could have positive effects on blood sugar/diabetes, since out of 12 patients with diabetes, almost all of them
had improved in testing after the melatonin treatment.
Why These Things Happened:
firstly, melatonins very potent anti-oxidant effects probably played a role in
any major health improvements.
melatonin scavenges free radicals as well as stabilising mitochondria, which should reduce oxidative
stress from atherosclerosis and other issues.
as well as a being very potent anti-oxidant, it is also very anti-inflammatory.
melatonin downregulates pro inflammatory cytokines and some other related pathways,
which helps with inflammation issues and insulin resistance.
the study also showed that melatonin reduced HbA1c in type 2 diabetes, so potentially it could
improve longer term glycaemic control
I am sorry that I didn't include everything from this study, it was a long read and I didn't write everything down.
Please feel free to independently read it, it is interesting.
Safety:
unlike what some people like to say, mega-dosing melatonin is very safe, and only comes with mild adverse effects.
these could be headaches, drowsiness etc
nothing too serious.
The Safety of Melatonin in Humans - PubMed
Exogenous melatonin has been investigated as treatment for a number of medical and surgical diseases, demonstrating encouraging results. The aim of this review was to present and evaluate the literature concerning the possible adverse effects and safety of exogenous melatonin in humans...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
this also shows that older people can take up to 200mg with only mild adverse effects, which should
tell you everything you need to know.
read up on the safety part of this study.
Dosage:
to get the most out of melatonin, I would recommend that anywhere from
30-200mg is a good range, and any adverse effects should just be treated
by lowering the dosage.
at these doses you benefit from the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Conclusion:
I really hope some people found any part of this thread useful, since it took forever to do most of the research,
and condense it all into one thread.
My apologies if its a bit messy, I haven't mastered condensing the information neatly.
TLDR: Melatonin is amazing, take it.
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