In my last blog post I discussed how I use melatonin in my practice as a sleep aid.
There has been a lot of research on melatonin in the last 5-10 years. Among it’s impressive credentials, melatonin has now been shown to:
- Decrease oxidative stress (inflammation)
- Reduce pain (like NSAIDs)
- Protect the gastointestinal lining
- Protect the liver
- Help prevent neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s
- Protect the brain from injury
- Protect the heart
- Aid in cancer prevention
- Be part of a care/support regime for different types of cancer
Now, we can read this list and think “Wow! I had better get some of this stuff right away!” And perhaps we should all be on melatonin. But what if this long (and surely incomplete) list of health benefits has a deeper meaning? Melatonin has quite the impressive resume, as you can see. But to me this signifies the importance of sleep more than melatonin itself. For that matter, sleep’s benefits aren’t limited to the secretion of melatonin, but go even deeper than this list can portray.
For more in depth reading on the health benefits of melatonin, check out these two articles:
Life Extension (1)
Life Extension (2)
In health,
If you or somebody you know is interested in working with a functional medicine doctor please call my office at (919) 238-4094 and see if we are the right fit for you. Infinity Holistic Healthcare is located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, part of the Raleigh-Durham “triangle” area.