Why you can not take melatonin in the form of a dragee

Lack of sleep can become unbearable. That is why many people resort to all kinds of medications or drugs to try to sleep. In some cases, these are people with insomnia serious. In others, they are just people who struggle to relieve the stress of everyday life and soon fall into the arms of Morpheus. But both one and the other think at some point to resort to melatonin supplements.

Melatonin is known as the sleep hormone because in our body it is secreted in pineal gland just to mark the passage heart rhythms. We developed per sleep at night and stay awake during the day. Therefore, when we are exposed to light, especially blue, its secretion is suppressed. sleep-inducing hormoneand in darkness or under more yellowish light it is released again.

Knowing this, it is logical to assume that it can lend a helping hand to our brain to help us fall asleep if we insomnia or trouble sleeping. And the truth is, it works. However, this does not mean that we can afford a free melatonin bar. The hormone secreted by our pineal gland is different from the one we take in supplement form. Some considerations need to be taken into account; but that’s why supplements are sold for freesuch considerations are usually left aside.

Does melatonin work to improve sleep?

There are several studies that analyze the effectiveness of melatonin against insomnia. and other sleep disorders.

They all come to the conclusion that exogenous melatonin, such as those taken through supplements, may be helpful. There are even those who compare it to drugs such as benzodiazepines, antidepressants, antihistamines and anti-anxiety drugs and they conclude that it is just as effective, but with far fewer side effects, than all these drugs.

But just because it has fewer side effects doesn’t mean it can be taken at any cost. In fact, as explained hypertext coordinator of the Sleep Research Group of the Spanish Society of Neurology, Ana Fernandez Arcos, this evidence is still sparse and should not be generalized. “The first sleep habits need to be improved“, – says the specialist. “If, despite this, the problem does not improve, it is necessary consult a doctor to be able to assess it, since sleep problems can have a variety of origins.

It is very important. Not only to determine the cause of insomnia. Also due to the effects of melatonin in all types of patients are unknown. “Its use should be considered with even more caution in people who have daytime sleepiness, and there are no studies in people with autoimmune diseases“.

highly dependent on age

Another important factor in determining whether someone should take melatonin is age. As we get older, our pineal gland releases less melatonin naturally. Therefore, from a certain age, we begin to sleep less. But it’s one thing to sleep fewer hours, and another thing is insomnia, which can also appear in older people. For this reason, melatonin is somewhat more recommended and approved as a drug in over 55 years old. Although it would also be advisable to evaluate each case.

And also determine the optimal dose. A study published in 2014 analyzed different doses of melatonin in people over the age of 55. The goal was to test which one creates the most appropriate effects. Thus, they saw that the lowest dose studied, 0.1 mg/kgwas the one that best mimics physiological circadian rhythms and therefore promotes improved sleep conditions.

Two types of melatonin

There are two types of melatonin, depending on their release method. instant used in people who Sleep problems; but that once they succeeded in falling asleep, they could go on sleeping until the end of the night.

However, what delayed release addressed to those who have what is known as persistent insomnia. In their case, they usually have many awakenings during the night, so they need to release melatonin little by little.

Delayed melatonin is also found in dietary supplements. However, as a drug, it is only approved for people over 55 years of age.

In any case, no matter how old the patient is and what type of melatonin they are taking, it should not become a permanent habit. Consumption of this hormone, even as a dietary supplement, should be as short as possible. Its long-term use is not recommended, but week maximum duration, with supervision and other measures“, explains Fernandez Arcos. “For the relief of long-term insomnia, the first line treatment is cognitive behavioral therapy“.

This is the psychological current that has the most scientific evidence and is used to treat all kinds of conditions, from anxiety to depression, as well as insomnia.

What should I do if I have trouble sleeping?

If we have trouble sleeping, we must consider several factors. First of all, we must consider our age. Yes we are over 55 years old this may simply be due to a decrease in melatonin secretion, although this is not certain. Young people can have many other reasons.

In both cases, we must go to the doctor. There we can tell you about our intention to try melatonin. He will know whether it is appropriate or not for our situation and given our history.

If you finally find it acceptable, we can start accepting it. If it costs us To fall asleep it will cost with immediate. But if we tend to wake up frequently, we may need a delay.

But with either of the two, we shouldn’t spend more than few weeks taking it After this time, if it didn’t work, we should go back to our doctor. He’ll evaluate if we need to run tests to find the source of this insomnia. If not, we could start with a psychologist who practices cognitive behavioral therapy. In fact, this may be the first option, it is not necessary to go through melatonin first. It is even highly desirable to do this while consuming the hormone.

It all depends on our situation and, yes, partly also on our preferences. But not forgetting that no matter how much melatonin is in jelly bean formatThey are not sweets. And we shouldn’t take it as such.