Effect of Melatonin on Moods

At one time or another, you---like most people---have probably woken up in a bad mood. There's no rhyme or reason to it; you just feel grumpy and bad. The blame may lie with melatonin, a naturally occurring hormone produced in your brain's pineal gland. Melatonin plays a major role in your sleeping patterns and overall mood.

History

• In 1958, Dr. Aarron B. Lerner, a prominent dermatologist, isolated the hormone we now know as melatonin. After discovering the hormone's presence in the pineal glands of cows, Dr. Lerner realized that the hormone was created from a neurotransmitter in the brain known as serotonin. Serotonin is found in the gastrointestinal tracts of humans and regulates various functions of the central nervous system, including mood and appetite.

  Upon further research, Dr. Lerner uncovered the relationship between light and melatonin levels, discovering that the normal person's melatonin levels rose during nighttime and fell during the day.

Function

• The primary function of melatonin is to help regulate sleeping patterns and body temperature. On average, a human being does not start producing melatonin until she is around three months of age, which explains babies' strange sleeping patterns. During childhood, melatonin levels continue to increase until they reach their peak during puberty and then steadily decrease as we age. And, as melatonin levels decrease, sleep difficulties begin to occur. This is why many people have sleeping problems during adulthood.

Significance

• The amount of melatonin present in your blood can influence the way you feel greatly. Individuals suffering from depression usually have low levels of melatonin. Decreasing melatonin levels can impede a good night's sleep, which in turn can cause insomnia, depression and other mood disorders such as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a serious depression that occurs in some people during seasons and conditions in which the light that triggers melatonin production is reduced.

Supplements

• Lauded as a miracle drug in the early 1990s, melatonin is most commonly used to treat SAD and sleep problems. Available as an over-the-counter supplement, melatonin is known as an effective sleep aid.

Cautions

• Speak with your doctor before deciding to take melatonin supplements. Because your body naturally converts serotonin (the hormone that keeps you happy) into melatonin, increased levels of melatonin in your blood typically mean decreased levels of serotonin. This makes you more likely to suffer from depression and an overall "bad mood."

  Drastically increasing melatonin levels through supplementation can have an adverse effect, actually causing mood swings and depression. If your body already makes enough melatonin and you take melatonin supplements, your body may actually stop producing the hormone naturally.