Rex Trulove
At one time or another, nearly everyone will experience problems with sleeping. Most often, they are problems with getting to sleep. Although there are many sleeping disorders that can cause a person to have difficulties sleeping, one of the most commonly prescribed medications for it is melatonin.
What melatonin is
Melatonin is a substance found in both plants and animals. In the latter, it is a hormone that has a great deal to do with the body’s blood pressure, reproductive cycle and, most importantly here, the circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm is the term used for the cycle of being wakeful and then sleepy.
In humans, dusk signals a small gland in the brain, called the pineal gland, which is located between the two halves of the brain, to start producing melatonin from an amino acid called tryptophan. It wouldn’t be correct to say that we sleep because of melatonin, but it does cause us to be drowsy and ready to sleep and it does regulate our impulses of when to wake up and when to sleep. (By the way, the pineal gland is sometimes called the “third eye” because it can be stimulated by light and darkness like the eye can be.)
As a side note, melatonin is also a strong antioxidant.
At times, a person’s pineal gland may not produce enough melatonin or the melatonin can be produced at the wrong time, which can increase the chances of sleeplessness occurring. There are also a number of illnesses that can cause a drop in the amount of melatonin that is produced. This is the reason it is sometimes given to people who suffer from insomnia or who travel a lot and have problems with jet-lag, as well as occasionally to people who have certain illnesses.
There is also growing evidence that the amount of melatonin produced by the pineal gland is influenced by age. There is a higher concentration in most children and the amount produced often drops, the older the person gets. This can explain why insomnia is more common in older people.
The thing is that most melatonin that is taken medicinally is either man-made or made out of cow urine. I’m not making that up, as distasteful as it sounds. Naturally, most people would probably object if they knew that they were taking something made from cow pee and a lot of people don’t like taking something that is synthetic.
Natural sources of melatonin
Since both plants and animals produce melatonin, a person with an unbalanced diet is more likely to have the problem of not having enough of the hormone to sleep well. An insomniac who goes to a doctor because of their sleep disorder will often be asked what they commonly eat and this is the reason for the question.
The good news is that there are some foods that are high in melatonin. Note that when we say here that they are high in this hormone, we are still talking about an incredibly small amount. Still, consuming these foods can help people who have bouts of insomnia.
Among the medicinal herbs that are high in melatonin is St. John’s Wort, Feverfew, Fennel seeds, Cardamom seeds, Anise, Coriander, Celery seeds, Milk Thistle seeds, Lemon Balm (lemon mint), Ginger, fresh Mint, Black Tea and Poppy seeds. The first two herbs mentioned are extremely high in melatonin.
Other foods that have melatonin include mustard seed, alfalfa seeds and sprouts, sunflower seeds, almonds, oats, radishes, tomatoes, bananas, rice, corn, pomegranates, strawberries, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cucumber, olives, grapes, walnuts, pineapple, oranges and tart cherries.
Interestingly, tart cherries aren’t very high in melatonin, but they are quite high in serotonin, which is similar except that serotonin isn’t absorbed into the brain. They can help insomniacs, but doctors don’t know why for sure. For this reason, cherries are often said to contain a lot of melatonin and this actually includes the amount of serotonin they contain. By the numbers, sour cherry juice concentrate contains the highest amount of melatonin, ignoring the fact that most of it is actually serotonin and not melatonin.
While melatonin is often prescribed and is available over the counter in North America, there are quite a few natural sources for the hormone. If you are suffering from insomnia, it might not be necessary to take a synthetic man-made drug or something that comes from the urine of a cow.
Excellent blog Great post, very informative as always!
I’m glad that you like it, especially if it is helpful in some way. Incidentally, doctors even prescribe melatonin to people who have sleeping difficulties.
Excellent blog, very informative.
Thank you! I’m glad you like it!
Always learn when reading your posts. Makes complete sense about why we don’t need as much sleep as we age.
That’s the funny thing, too. There are a lot of people my age and older who think that they are insomniacs because they can’t sleep for eight hours anymore. If they feel rested when they awake, they aren’t insomniacs, they are simply feeling the change in their bodies due to things like a reduced level of melatonin. I’m also an advocate of taking a short nap during the day. :))
Exactly, my Dad and I used to have those conversations. He said his body would start hurting if he stayed in the bed too long. He would get up at sometimes 3am and 4am. And he would always take a nap.
I did not know about the cow urine, However, I am I told my female hormones are made with horse urine.
It isn’t surprising. Many people might say, “Ewwww”, but that has been a common practice for a long time. It is one reason that very few people who consider themselves vegan are actually vegan. Many of the things they consume, including medications, vitamins, mineral supplements, and so forth, contain animal byproducts.
Yikes! This is more than I wanted to know. I’ve been taking Melatonin for decades, as well as eating many of the foods on your list above. It does help me sleep better. I used to take over-the-counter sleeping aids until I read that they can contribute to memory loss. The ambien I took sometimes I read was even worse, so I quit taking it completely and stick to supplements now.
Melatonin *can* be extracted from plants, it is just quite expensive to do so. If you prefer taking supplements rather than getting melatonin from the foods you eat, you might do some research to find a company that sells only melatonin that is made from plants and not synthetic or animal-produced melatonin.
Great post, very informative as always!
Thank you! That is kind of you to say!
Well I mean it…your posts are always very informative and well written!
I really appreciate that sentiment, truthfully.
I’m glad to hear that 🙂 I wish I could write posts that well….but doing art is more my thing lol