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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.