5/1/2015

The Many Health Benefits of Melatonin

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ExposingYourself
toLightatNightShutsDownYour
MelatoninandRaisesYourCancer
Risk
March19,2013 | 376,185views
|
DisponibleenEspaol

ByDr.Mercola
Canreadingyourselftosleeportextingintothe
weehoursofthemorningraiseyourriskof
cancer?Youbetitcan.Exposingyourselfto
artificiallightatnightshutsdownyourbody's
productionofanimportanthormonecalled
melatonin.
Melatoninhasrolesincancerprevention,
strengtheningyourimmunesystem,andmay
evenslowdowncellularaginginfact,ithas
beenthesubjectofpreclinicalresearchonover
100differentdiseaseapplications.1It'syour
body's"SuperherooftheNight,"andlightishis
numberonenemesis.
Forthepastcenturyorso,thedevelopedworld
hasbeenperforminganopenendedexperiment
onitselfbylengtheningitsdaysandshortening
itsnightsinanefforttobecomea24hourper
day,everproductivesociety.
Butlightpollutiongeneratedbymodern
technologiesistakingaheavybiologicaltollon
humans,aswellasotherformsoflifeonEarth.
Formorethan200,000years,humansandother
lifeformsevolvedorgansthattookadvantageof
environmentalcues.Wedevelopedabiological
clockgovernedbyEarth'scyclesoflightand
darkness.
Artificiallightingdisruptsyourbiologicalclock
andmelatoninproduction,withunfortunate
effectsonyourhealth.AsDr.RusselReitersays
inthepresentationabove,"lightmaybekilling
you."

TheDarkSideofNight
Inhumansaswithallmammals,yourbiological
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/03/19/melatonin-benefits.aspx

Storyataglance
Readinglateatnight,watchingTV,orsending
emailsintotheweehoursofthemorningmaybe
stoppingyourmelatoninproductiondeadinits
tracksanddeprivingyouofthishormonesmany
healthbenefits
Melatoninisimportantfortheproperfunctioning
ofyourimmunesystem,scavengingfree
radicals,reducinginflammation,andhelping
yourbodytoriditselfofcancercellsmultiple
studiespointtotheroleofmelatoninin
protectingyoufrommultipletypesofcancer,
includingbreastcancer
Eventheslightestamountoflightinthewhiteor
bluebandwidthsisenoughtoseriouslydepress
yourpinealglandsproductionofmelatoninfor
thenight,whichiswhysleepingintotaldarkness
issoimportant
Suggestionsaregivenforoptimizingyour
melatoninproduction,suchastheonetypeof
lightthatdoesnotdisruptyourmelatonin
production
Lightpollutionisagrowingproblemthathas
adversebiologicaleffectsonplantsandanimals,
particularlybirdswhosebreedingandmigration
patternsaredisrupted

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The Many Health Benefits of Melatonin

clockresidesinthesuprachiasmaticnucleusof
yourbrain(SCN),whichispartofyour
hypothalamus.Basedonsignalsoflightand
darkness,yourSCNtellsyourpinealgland2
whenit'stimetosecretemelatonin.
Lightcomesinthroughyoureyesandtravelsup
youropticnervestotheSCN,whichis
exquisitelysensitivetocyclesoflightand
darkness.

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ofSeedSaving

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Whenyouturnonalightatnight,you
immediatelysendyourbrainmisinformation
What'stheWorstThingYouCanDoifYou
aboutthelightdarkcycle.Theonlythingyour
Can'tFallAsleep?
braininterpretslighttobeisday.Believing
daytimehasarrived,yourbiologicalclock
instructsyourpinealglandtoimmediatelyceaseitsproductionofmelatonin.
Whetheryouhavethelightonforanhourorforjustasecond,theeffectisthesameandyourmelatonin
pumpdoesn'tturnbackonwhenyouflipthelightbackoff.
Sincehumansevolvedintheglowoffirelight,theyellow,orangeandredwavelengthsdon'tsuppress
melatoninproductionthewaywhiteandbluewavelengthsdo.Infact,therangeoflightthatinhibitsmelatonin
isfairlynarrow460to480nm.Ifyouwanttoprotectyourmelatonin,whenthesungoesdownyouwould
shifttoalowwattagebulbwithyellow,orange,orredlight.Dr.Reitersuggestsusingasaltlampilluminated
bya5wattbulbinthiscolorrange.

TheMassiveHealthBenefitsofMelatonin
Thehormonemelatoninproducesanumberofhealthbenefitsintermsofyourimmunesystem.It'sa
powerfulantioxidantandfreeradicalscavengerthathelpscombatinflammation.Infact,melatoninisso
integraltoyourimmunesystemthatalackofitcausesyourthymusgland,akeycomponentofyourimmune
system,toatrophy.3Melatoninmayevenhavearoleinslowingtheagingofyourbrain.
Inadditiontohelpingyoufallasleepandbestowingafeelingofoverallcomfortandwellbeing,melatoninhas
proventohaveanimpressivearrayofanticancerbenefits.4Melatonininhibitstheproliferationofawide
rangeofcancercelltypes,aswellastriggeringcancercellapoptosis(selfdestruction).Thehormonealso
interfereswiththenewbloodsupplytumorsrequirefortheirrapidgrowth(angiogenesis).5Melatonincan
boostefficacyanddecreasethetoxicityofcancerchemotherapy.6

MelatoninMayBeBreastCancer'sWorstNightmare
Peerreviewedandpublishedresearchhasshownmelatoninoffersparticularlystrongprotectionagainst
reproductivecancers.Cellsthroughoutyourbodyevencancercellshavemelatoninreceptors.So
whenmelatoninmakesitsnightlyrounds,celldivisionslows.Whenthishormonelatchesontoabreast
cancercell,ithasbeenfoundtocounteractestrogen'stendencytostimulatecellgrowth.
Infact,melatoninhasacalmingeffectonseveralreproductivehormones,whichmayexplainwhyitseemsto
protectagainstsexhormonedrivencancers,includingovarian,endometrial,breast,prostateandtesticular
cancers.GreenMedInfoliststwentystudiesdemonstratingexactlyhowmelatoninexertsitsprotectiveeffects
againstbreastcancer.
Butmelatonin'santicancereffectsdon'tstopthere.Whilecausingcancercellstoselfdestruct,melatonin
alsoboostsyourproductionofimmunestimulatingsubstancessuchasinterleukin2,whichhelpsidentifyand
attackthemutatedcellsthatleadtocancer.Throughthesedualactions,melatonindeliversaonetwopunch!
Thegreatestareaofmelatoninresearchtodatehastodowithbreastcancer.Someofthemoreimpressive
studiesincludethefollowing:
ThejournalEpidemiology7reportedincreasedbreastcancerriskamongwomenwhowork
predominantlynightshifts
Womenwholiveinneighborhoodswithlargeamountsofnighttimeilluminationaremorelikelytoget
breastcancerthanthosewholiveinareaswherenocturnaldarknessprevails,accordingtoanIsraeli
study8
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/03/19/melatonin-benefits.aspx

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FromparticipantsintheNurses'HealthStudy,itwasfoundthatnurseswhoworknightshad36
percenthigherratesofbreastcancer9
Blindwomen,whoseeyescannotdetectlightandsohaverobustproductionofmelatonin,have
lowerthanaveragebreastcancerrates10
Whenthebodyofepidemiologicalstudiesareconsideredintheirtotality,womenwhoworknightshift
arefoundtohavebreastcancerrates60percentabovenormal,evenwhenotherfactorssuchas
differencesindietareaccountedfor11

MelatoninImprovesCancerPatients'Longevity
Glioblastomaisanasty,aggressiveformofbraincancerwithapoorprognosisandnotmuchinthewayof
effectivetreatments.However,melatoninmayoffersomehope.Inoneclinicaltrial,12patientswitha
glioblastomaweregiveneitherradiationandmelatonin,orradiationalone.Twentythreepercentofthe
patientsreceivingthemelatoninwerealiveoneyearlater,whilenonewhoreceivedradiationalonewerestill
alive.
Anotherstudyfoundthatmelatoninreducedthegrowthofprostatecancer.13Studiesshowsimilarly
encouragingresultsforlung,pancreatic,colorectalandothertypesofcancer.AnarticleinLifeExtension
Magazine14containsatablesummarizingstudieswithoneyearcancersurvivalratesthatarevastly
improvedwhenmelatoninisatreatmentmodality.Authorsofasystematicreviewofmelatoninforthe
treatmentofalltypesofcancerconcluded:15
"Effectswereconsistentacrossmelatonindose,andtypeofcancer.Nosevereadverseeventswere
reported.Thesubstantialreductioninriskofdeath,lowadverseeventsreportedandlowcostsrelated
tothisinterventionsuggestgreatpotentialformelatoninintreatingcancer."
Duetothestrengthofthescientificresearch,in2007,theWorldHealthOrganization(WHO)announceda
decisiontoclassifyshiftworkasa"probablecarcinogen."16Thatputsthenightshiftinthesamehealthrisk
categoryasexposuretosuchtoxicchemicalsastrichloroethylene,vinylchlorideandpolychlorinated
biphenyls(PCBs).Ifthisisn'tatestamenttotheimportanceofmelatoninforhumanhealth,Idon'tknowwhat
is!

HowtoOptimizeYourMelatoninLevels
Twocommonenvironmental"noise"factorsthatcanmakesleepelusivearelightpollutionandtemperature.
Thefollowingsuggestionscanimproveyoursleephygieneandhelpyouoptimizeyourmelatoninproduction.
Foracomprehensivesleepguide,pleaseseemyarticle33Secret'stoaGoodNight'sSleep.
AvoidwatchingTVorusingyourcomputerintheevening,atleastanhourorsobeforegoing
tobed.Thesedevicesemitbluelight,whichtricksyourbrainintothinkingit'sstilldaytime.Normally
yourbrainstartssecretingmelatoninbetween9and10pm,andthesedevicesemitlightthatmay
stiflethatprocess.
MakesureyougetBRIGHTsunexposureregularly.Yourpinealglandproducesmelatoninroughly
inapproximationtothecontrastofbrightsunexposureinthedayandcompletedarknessatnight.If
youareindarknessalldaylong,itcan'tappreciatehedifferenceandwillnotoptimizeyourmelatonin
production.
Sleepincompletedarkness,orasclosetoitaspossible.Eventheslightestbitoflightinyour
bedroomcandisruptyourbiologicalclockandyourpinealgland'smelatoninproduction.Eventhe
tiniestglowfromyourclockradiocouldbeinterferingwithyoursleep,socoveryourradioupatnight
orgetridofitaltogether.Moveallelectricaldevicesatleastthreefeetawayfromyourbed.Youmay
wanttocoveryourwindowswithdrapesorblackoutshades.
Installalowwattageyellow,orangeorredlightbulbifyouneedasourceoflightfor
navigationatnight.Lightinthesebandwidthsdoesnotshutdownmelatoninproductionintheway
thatwhiteandbluebandwidthlightdoes.Saltlampsarehandyforthispurpose.
Keepthetemperatureinyourbedroomnohigherthan70degreesF.Manypeoplekeeptheir
homestoowarm(particularlytheirupstairsbedrooms).Studiesshowthattheoptimalroom
temperatureforsleepisbetween60to68degrees.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/03/19/melatonin-benefits.aspx

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The Many Health Benefits of Melatonin

Takeahotbath90to120minutesbeforebedtime.Thisincreasesyourcorebodytemperature,
andwhenyougetoutofthebathitabruptlydrops,signalingyourbodythatyouarereadytosleep.
Avoidusingloudalarmclocks.Beingjoltedawakeeachmorningcanbeverystressful.Ifyouare
regularlygettingenoughsleep,youmightnotevenneedanalarm.
Getsomesuninthemorning,ifpossible.Yourcircadiansystemneedsbrightlighttoresetitself.
Tento15minutesofmorningsunlightwillsendastrongmessagetoyourinternalclockthatdayhas
arrived,makingitlesslikelytobeconfusedbyweakerlightsignalsduringthenight.Moresunlight
exposureisrequiredasyouage.
Bemindfulofelectromagneticfieldsinyourbedroom.EMFscandisruptyourpinealglandandits
melatoninproduction,andmayhaveothernegativebiologicaleffectsaswell.Agaussmeteris
requiredifyouwanttomeasureEMFlevelsinvariousareasofyourhome.

ShouldYouSupplementwithMelatonin?
Currentscientificresearchsuggeststhatmelatonindeficiencymaycomewithsomeprofoundbiological
disadvantages,suchashigherlevelsofinflammation,aweakenedimmunesystem,andanincreasedriskof
cancer.Oneofthesurestwaysofcompromisingyourbody'snaturalmelatoninproductionisbyexposing
yourselftoartificiallightatnightevenbriefly.Multiplestudieshavefoundthatnightshiftworkershave
higherratesofcancer,particularlybreastcancer.
SupplementationmaybebeneficialbutitisFARmorebeneficialandcertainlylessexpensivetohaveyour
bodyproduceitsownmelatonin.Thiswayyouwillgetthe"perfect"melatonindosageforyou,the
"Goldilocks'"dose,nottoomuchandnottoolittle,becauseyourbodywilluseimportantfeedbackloopsto
adjustthedosejustright.If,forwhatever,reasonyouareunabletoincreaseyourmelatoninnaturallyas
describedabove,theyyoucanconsiderasupplement,butitwouldstillbewisetocontinuethelisted
suggestions.
Inscientificstudies,melatoninhasbeenshowntohelppeoplefallasleepfasterandstayasleep,experience
lessrestlessness,andpreventdaytimefatigue.Keepinmindthatonlyaverysmalldoseisrequired
typically0.25mgor0.5mgtostartwith,andyoucanadjustitupfromthere.Takinghigherdoses,suchas3
mg,cansometimesmakeyoumorewakefulinsteadofsleepier,soadjustyourdosecarefully.

[+]SourcesandReferences
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/03/19/melatonin-benefits.aspx

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