The Dracula Hormone

Okay, I admit it. The title of this post is an attempt to ensnare the unsuspecting reader. If I instead had titled the post, “Melatonin: The Multitasking Molecule,” would you be reading right now — or stifling a yawn? I thought so. Just so you know, melatonin is known in some circles as the Dracula hormone, so I am not totally social-media-pandering or playing the seo game.

Now, on to business. Melatonin is kind of wonderful…surprisingly wonderful. I have been taking it for years – as probably many of you have – to help with jet lag. Secreted by the pineal gland (should details like that interest you), melatonin is naturally released when darkness falls, a signal to the body that it’s time to sleep. It is the daily rise and fall of the hormone that helps regulate our internal clocks.

Research now suggests that melatonin may do far more than that. It turns out that the hormone is also a powerful antioxidant, perhaps the most powerful in the body.
By scavenging free radicals and stimulating other antioxidant enzymes, melatonin minimizes oxidative stress and inflammation in the brain, and reduces the neurodegeneration caused by the amyloid beta and tau proteins – the evil-doers that accumulate in the brains of those with Alzheimer’s. People with Alzheimer’s have about one-fifth the amount of melatonin in their spinal fluid as younger people. People older than 80 have about one-half. Thinking about supplementation beyond jet-lag use? Do read about potential side effects (not scary).

Other studies are showing that melatonin can be an effective treatment for SAD (seasonal affective disorder, a form of depression that hits in the winter months) and even for non-seasonal major depression. A synthetic version of melatonin is proving to be as effective as prescription antidepressants like Prozac – but without many of the side effects. Restoring and regulating sleep patterns can do wonders for the mood. And now there’s research on melatonin and the heart, and melatonin and metabolic diseases like diabetes.

To which I say: Hurrah for the Dracula molecule. And: Wow, isn’t the human body freaking amazing.