Sleep problems

Articles
Title
Sleep disorders and menopause
Laptops and mobile phones in bed disturb your sleep
Melatonin helps kids with eczema fall sleep at night
Make sure to get a good night's sleep - it's the ultimate and essential "brainwash"
Why sleep is so important
Good Tips for Better Sleep
Melatonin improves sleep quality
Nightshift jobs disturb your 24-hour clock:
Ask the pharmacist: Is there a natural cure for sleep disturbances?

What is melatonin

Right in the centre of the brain is a small, pea-sized gland called the pineal gland. When it gets dark outside the pineal gland responds by secreting melatonin, a hormone that controls the body’s 24-hour clock (circadian rhythm).

What is melatonin

Besides inducing the drowsiness that helps us fall asleep at night, melatonin is a powerful antioxidant that scurries through the body, virtually cleaning up the “biochemical mess” that accumulates in the body in the course of the day, causing oxidative damage to cells and their membranes.

Melatonin is widely used by transatlantic fliers as a natural way of “resetting” their body’s 24-hour clock. In doing so, they can prevent jetlag.

Melatonin may protect nightshift workers

Two American studies plus a Danish study conducted by researchers from the National Cancer Institute suggest that women who work night shifts are at increased risk of developing breast cancer, particularly women on the so-called “graveyard shift” from midnight until the early morning hours. Apparently, disrupting the body’s melatonin production through nocturnal exposure to artificial light contributes to the problem. Since the body secretes the largest amount of melatonin in the early morning hours, provided the person is sleeping, people who work during this period have the largest health risk.