We see it on almost all boxes of “sleep” capsules but be careful…
Sleepiness during the day, lack of energy, difficulty paying attention or even irritability. The consequences of sleep disorders seriously harm well-being. Insomnia prevents you from falling asleep and/or wakes you up in the middle of the night. To get back to sleep, some rely on a synthetic hormone called “melatonin”. We see it displayed on a number of sleep food supplements, but without always knowing its role in the body.
“Melatonin is a hormone secreted in a region of the brain called the epiphysis. This secretion occurs at night, that is to say when it is dark”explains Dr. Marc Rey, sleep specialist and President of the Institute of Sleep and Vigilance. This secretion is blocked when day breaks because that is the time when we are lit, so it is the light which blocks melatonin. More precisely, blue light because it is the blue sky which tells us that it is morning. “The role of melatonin is therefore to tell our body the time; we say that it is chrono-biotic.”
“Some people didn’t really understand what it was.”
Afterwards, “the alternation between light and darkness will allow us to synchronize a whole bunch of biological rhythms, since there are actions that we will secrete in the morning like cortisol for example, which allows us to metabolize, therefore to expend energycontinues the specialist. When we had no electricity, this mechanism worked perfectly well. But from the moment we developed the latter, we deprived melatonin of its own rhythm and, by extension, we disrupted our body, which includes sleep. “Some people don’t quite understand. They consider that melatonin is the sleep hormone but it is actually the night hormone” Dr. Rey corrects.
Faced with this disruption, “we are seeing a whole bunch of compounds appear in which we are offered to take exogenous melatonin, that is to say as a food supplement, in order to regain a sleep-wake rhythm”. For our expert, melatonin as a supplement can be useful but only as a chrono-biotic, that is to say if it is always taken at the same time, in the form of a cure. “It should not be considered a sleeping pill. Some people take melatonin all the time and at all hours thinking that it will help them sleep.” No way. Dr. Rey recommends taking it regularly for 3 weeks, knowing that you have to wait about one to two weeks to see its effects.. “The most important thing is to make the effort to get back into the rhythm and it’s up to you to do it, melatonin is only a help.”
To regain a restful sleep rhythm, there are other natural solutions that do not require taking food supplements. “Melatonin can be taken, but we can also act on it by changing the light. When you light up very brightly in the morning, you properly block your secretion of melatonin and this will improve your wakefulness. On the other hand, If you light up brightly in the evening, it will block the secretion of melatonin and prevent you from falling asleep.” This particularly concerns blue light from screens, which is why you should not go to bed with your phone.