Blue light from LED lamps and consumer electronics can mess with your sleep because it disrupts production of the natural sleep hormone melatonin. Tinted glasses or displays in night mode can mask, but don't remove, a portion ...
Dec 14, 2023
0
13
Nearly one in five school-aged children and preteens now take melatonin for sleep, and some parents routinely give the hormone to preschoolers, according to new research from the University of Colorado Boulder published Nov. ...
Nov 13, 2023
0
87
Brain damage caused by oxygen deficiency at birth is one of the main causes of death in newborns worldwide. Using a small animal model, researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and DZNE tested treatment with 25 ...
Jul 3, 2023
0
25
Even slight exposure to light can prompt the critical sleep-promoting hormone melatonin to plummet in preschoolers in the hour before bedtime, potentially disrupting slumber long after the light goes out, according to new ...
Jan 25, 2022
0
81
Melatonin is used as a dietary supplement to promote sleep and get over jet lag, but nobody really understands how it works in the brain. Now, researchers at UConn Health show that melatonin helps worms sleep, too, and they ...
Nov 13, 2020
0
361
Results from a new Cleveland Clinic-led study suggest that melatonin, a hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle and is commonly used as an over-the-counter sleep aid, may be a viable treatment option for COVID-19.
Nov 9, 2020
0
6474
Like breathing or blinking, behaviors regulated by our circadian rhythms, such as digestion and sleep-wake cycles, go unnoticed by most people. But when circadian rhythms malfunction, the result can be any one of a broad ...
Feb 10, 2020
0
140
Women, beware: Sleeping with a light on or the TV going in your bedroom could make you put on weight.
Jun 10, 2019
0
114
A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in the U.S. has identified circadian rhythm patterns in human skin based on genetic biomarkers. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of ...
Athletes often have to compete late in the evening, when they are no longer able to perform at their best. As reported in the journal Frontiers in Physiology, however, researchers from the University of Basel have shown that ...
May 19, 2017
0
37
Melatonin i/ˌmɛləˈtoʊnɪn/, also known chemically as N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine, is a naturally occurring compound found in animals, plants, and microbes. In animals, circulating levels of the hormone melatonin vary in a daily cycle, thereby allowing the entrainment of the circadian rhythms of several biological functions.
Many biological effects of melatonin are produced through activation of melatonin receptors, while others are due to its role as a pervasive and powerful antioxidant, with a particular role in the protection of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA.
In mammals, melatonin is secreted into the blood by the pineal gland in the brain. Known as the "hormone of darkness," it is secreted in darkness in both day-active (diurnal) and night-active (nocturnal) animals.
It may also be produced by a variety of peripheral cells such as bone marrow cells, lymphocytes, and epithelial cells. Usually, the melatonin concentration in these cells is much higher than that found in the blood, but it does not seem to be regulated by the photoperiod.
Research has shown that when bird chicks ingest melatonin-rich plant feed, such as rice, the melatonin binds to melatonin receptors in their brains. No food has been found to elevate plasma melatonin levels in humans.
Products containing melatonin have been available over-the-counter as dietary supplements in the United States since the mid-1990s. In many other countries, the over-the-counter sale of this neurohormone is not permitted or requires a prescription, and the U.S. Postal Service lists unapproved melatonin preparations among items prohibited by Germany.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA
