How Does Melatonin Help You Sleep?
Nothing beats feeling refreshed in the morning after a good night’s sleep. We know that sleep is important as it recharges the “batteries” of our body every 24 hours for the maintenance of our emotional and physical wellbeing. In fact, good sleep goes hand in hand with good diet and exercise to give us the essential energy that powers us through a fruitful day.
It seems that our body knows the importance of sleep even better than we do! The human body is intelligently made with a built-in clock, known as the circadian rhythm to ensure it gets the rest that it needs. It is for this reason we feel energized and drowsy around the same time every day.
What is Melatonin?
Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone that is made by the pineal gland in our brain. It is more commonly known as the “sleep hormone” as it helps create the urge to fall asleep. Melatonin is the key component in the regulation of the circadian rhythm which controls our sleep pattern.
How Does Melatonin Work?
During the day when there is sunlight, the pineal gland is “switched off”, but when the sun goes down, the pineal gland is “switched on” to release melatonin into the blood circulation. The melatonin levels in the blood circulation begin to rise in the mid-to-late evening, stay elevated throughout the night and drop in the early morning hours. This makes light the arch nemesis of melatonin as melatonin only appears when there is darkness.
Our body is sensitive to the circulating melatonin in the blood and is able to detect the melatonin levels which when high will cause drowsiness to signify bedtime. Melatonin is the reason why we are awake during the day and asleep during the night.
However, there are instances in our life which can cause disruptions to our circadian rhythm – for example, with jet lag or shift work. Melatonin will come in handy in these circumstances as it helps reset your biological clock and prompts sleep.
Jet lag
When we travel into a new time zone, our circadian rhythm typically requires several days to catch up with the changes in time. During these adjustment periods, we experience a temporary mismatch between our sleep timing and the external cues in the new destination – commonly known as jet lag.
Shift Work
In this day and age of globalization, there is an increased demand for shift workers to meet the needs of our 24-hour society. The price that shift workers pay by working throughout the night for productivity advantages is the experiences of sleeping problems during the day.
The Elderly
Additionally, the amount of melatonin produced by the pineal gland gradually drops as we age. This is the reason why some elderly folks find it difficult to fall asleep and/or sleep less.
WafeRestTM – The Sublingual Melatonin
If you are a bed tosser-and-turner with difficulty falling asleep, our product WafeRestTM might just be the relief that you need.
WafeRestTM is a non-addictive sleep aid which has melatonin formulated in a freeze-dried wafer form using our patented sublingual (under the tongue) technology that allows melatonin to be directly absorbed into our bloodstream. Our body would then detect the rise in melatonin level in the blood and drift us off to dreamland.
Unlike any oral forms available (capsule or tablet), this sublingual form of melatonin bypasses your digestive system, providing rapid action and put you to sleep in less than 20 minutes!
Written by Angel Lee Angel is a certified Pharmacist. She received her B.Pharm from Monash University.