Melatonin helps repair DNA damage during sleep.

Describe Melatonin

The pineal gland, a tiny brain gland, produces melatonin.  The endocrine system includes the pineal gland. Most research reveals that melatonin synchronizes circadian rhythms in diverse areas of the body.  Physical, emotional, and behavioral changes occur every 24 hours.  The sleep-wake cycle is the most well-known circadian rhythm.  Light and dark dominate these natural processes.  The pineal gland releases the most melatonin at night and the least amount during the day.

A lab can synthesize melatonin and sell it as a supplement.  Since the FDA doesn't regulate supplements, synthetic melatonin isn't FDA-approved for any purpose.  Consult your doctor or pharmacist before taking melatonin supplements.

Sleep in dark

Uses of Melatonin

• People with delayed sleep phase syndrome have problems falling asleep at night. 
• Melatonin used orally helps young people and children with this problem fall asleep faster.
• The patient suffers from a sleep-wake disorder that lasts for less than 24 hours. 
• Melatonin used orally at bedtime helps blind children and adults sleep.

Health benefits of melatonin

• Melatonin may help seasonal sadness, sleep, and eyes.  Children should not use it despite its safety and few adverse effects.

A recent study found a surprise extra health advantage to this popular sleep aid.

In America, melatonin is highly sought after. Between 1999 and 2018, the use of the popular "sleep" supplement surged fivefold, according to NIH data. Individuals use it to combat jet lag. fall asleep at night and lessen anxiety before medical procedures. These days, nearly two people out of every 100 say they use melatonin.   When you're overly wired, melatonin may do more than just help you fall asleep, according to recent studies.

The video about DNA regeneration

A study in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine suggests that melatonin may help some people repair DNA damage while they sleep.

* The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) states that your brain naturally creates the hormone melatonin in response to darkness.    Melatonin can help you fall asleep and control your internal clock, also referred to as your circadian cycles.

*  The DNA repair element, however, represents a novel health advantage. 

*  The results of the study and the potential causes, as recommended by medical experts, are listed below.

Learn about the expert:  

The hosts of the Sleep Unplugged podcast

Jamie Alan, PhD, an associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Michigan State University; 

Parveen Bhatti, PhD, a cancer control researcher and study co-author at BC Cancer Research Institute; 

W. Christopher Winter, MD, is a neurologist and sleep medicine specialist with Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine.

Also, read https://www.melatonin-research.net/index.php/MR/article/view/8.

What did the study find out?

* For the study, forty night shift workers were enlisted and divided into two groups.  One group took a melatonin pill before bed after work for four weeks.   The other group was given a placebo tablet.

* The researchers took urine samples and looked for a chemical called creatinine-adjusted 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG) to determine the body's capacity to repair oxidative DNA damage.   For those who don't know, oxidative DNA damage is a change in DNA that can be brought on by inflammation, chemical exposure, and poor diet.  It raises the chance of getting cancer and other serious illnesses.    Higher concentrations of this substance in urine, the researchers found, suggest that the body can more easily repair oxidative DNA damage.

* The subjects wore activity monitors to better measure their sleep duration.   The researchers also measured 8-OH-dG levels in the individuals' urine during the night shifts and after they went to bed.

* They found that the melatonin group had stronger DNA repair during the sleeping hours, as evidenced by the fact that their 8-OH-dG levels were 80% higher than those of the placebo group.

What does this mean? 

Because it disrupts the body's circadian cycles, working at night has been linked to several serious health issues, such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.   Nonetheless, the findings suggest that taking melatonin supplements could lessen the adverse consequences of sleeping during the day and staying up late.

How much melatonin did the subjects take to get results?

The participants took three milligrams of melatonin before bed for the duration of the four-week trial.   According to the study's researchers, they chose this dosage because it was most likely enough to influence most respondents' sleep-wake cycles.

How does melatonin contribute to DNA repair?

Crucially, the study recently found a link between the use of melatonin and the synthesis of 8-OH-dG. ( 8-Hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) is a molecule that indicates oxidative DNA damage ). In actuality, it didn't show that people who took melatonin had better DNA repair.

Furthermore, Jamie Alan, PhD, an associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Michigan State University, says you can have "silent" mutations in your DNA that don't necessarily impact your health.   Alan also points out that the study was narrowly targeted and that further research is necessary before we can start gloating about the supplement's ability to repair DNA.

However, the findings are certainly interesting.

• The study found that when you work a night shift, your body suppresses the production of melatonin to help you stay awake.   But that makes it harder for your body to repair the oxidative DNA damage that constantly occurs in cells.   If left untreated, the damage can raise the risk of developing certain diseases and disorders.
• According to Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine neurologist and sleep medicine specialist W. Christopher Winter, MD, host of the Sleep Unplugged podcast, people might have reversed this trend by using melatonin to fall asleep, which would have increased DNA repair.
• "Even at the DNA level, our body is continuously looking for and trying to repair cellular damage," he says.    This is often considered in terms of oxidative damage, which certain drugs facilitate.   This study's findings imply that melatonin might help in this process.

Will melatonin help my body repair its DNA?

• It's hard to say at the moment.   The study's highly specific target population was night shift workers, who are vulnerable to issues with DNA repair.
• "These findings are very specific to night shift workers who are sleeping during the day and have lower circulating levels of melatonin," explains Parveen Bhatti, PhD, a co-author of the study and a cancer control researcher at the BC Cancer Research Institute. "Non-night shift workers tend to sleep at night and usually produce adequate amounts of melatonin.".
• It's uncertain if melatonin would have the same effect if you usually sleep at night and are awake during the day, based on the data.

Which supplements include melatonin?

Dr. Winter cautions against taking melatonin supplements daily because the majority of people produce melatonin naturally.   "I think this is an inappropriate use of the drug because most people use it as a sleep aid," he says.    However, he believes there might be a use for melatonin if you work the night shift and have trouble falling asleep or are suffering from jet lag.

Conclusion

This new study reveals that they may help you fall asleep and sustain DNA health. Melatonin isn't magical.  Cell protection requires proper sleep hygiene, balanced eating, and regular exercise.