What is the melatonin hormone? How does it work? Are melatonin supplements effective for getting rid of insomnia and getting a good night’s sleep? What are the different stages of sleep? Is melatonin useful for preventing or treating the emerging coronavirus (Covid-19)? How do we get a healthy sleep in the time of Corona? The answers are in this report.
Sleep is a state in which awareness of environmental stimuli is reduced. Sleep is important for a number of brain functions, including how nerve cells communicate with each other. In fact, the brain and body remain remarkably active during sleep. Recent findings suggest that sleep plays a “housekeeping” role that removes toxins in your brain that build up while awake, according to the in the US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke . Read also This is what happens to your brain if you don’t get enough sleep Lack of sleep leads to 5 serious complications, so how do you get enough at night and during naps A good night’s sleep is the key to this daily 18-step program The rumen is dangerous and its defeat is by walking and refraining from eating 3 hours before bedtime
There are two main types of sleep: rapid eye movement-REM sleep and non-REM sleep, also known as non-REM sleep, and the latter has 3 different phases.
All stages are associated with specific brain waves and neural activity, and a sleeping person cycles through all stages of non-REM and REM sleep several times during the night, with periods of longer and deeper REM sleep occurring in the morning, according to the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. United.
sleep stages
- The first stage of non-REM sleep is the transition from wakefulness to sleep. During this short period (lasting several minutes) of relatively light sleep, your heartbeat, breathing and eye movements slow down, and your muscles relax with occasional spasms. Your brain waves begin to slow down from your waking patterns during the day.
- The second stage of non-REM sleep is a period of light sleep before you enter into a deeper sleep. Your heart rate and breathing slow down, and your muscles relax more. Your body temperature drops and your eye movements stop. Brain wave activity slows down but is characterized by short bursts of electrical activity. Your repeated sleep cycles spend more in stage 2 sleep than you do in other sleep stages.
- The third stage of non-REM sleep is the period of deep sleep you need to feel refreshed in the morning. It occurs in longer periods during the first half of the night. Your heart rate and breathing slow down to their lowest levels during sleep. Your muscles are relaxed and it may be difficult to wake you up. Brain waves become slower.
- Rapid eye movement sleep, which first occurs about 90 minutes after falling asleep. Your eyes move quickly from side to side behind closed eyelids. Brain wave activity becomes closer to the activity seen in wakefulness. Your breathing becomes faster and irregular, and your heart rate and blood pressure increase to near waking levels. Most of your dreams occur during REM sleep, although some can also occur in non-REM sleep. Your arm and leg muscles become temporarily paralyzed.
What is melatonin?
Melatonin is a hormone your brain produces in response to darkness, and it helps determine the timing of your circadian rhythms and sleep. Exposure to light at night can suppress melatonin production, according to the US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.
Research suggests that melatonin plays other important roles in the body after sleep, however these effects are not fully understood. t
Can melatonin help treat insomnia?
People with insomnia have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or both. When symptoms last for a month or more, it is called chronic insomnia.
According to practice guidelines from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (2017) and the American College of Physicians (2016), there is not enough strong evidence on the efficacy or safety of melatonin supplements for chronic insomnia to recommend its use. The American College of Physicians’ guidelines strongly recommend the use of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia as a primary treatment.
Is melatonin useful for preventing or treating COVID-19?
Current research into the effects of melatonin on COVID-19 is still in the early stages. At this point, it is too early to draw conclusions about whether melatonin is beneficial for patients with COVID-19 or in preventing it.
Is it safe to take melatonin?
For melatonin supplements, particularly at doses higher than what the body normally produces, there is not enough information yet about potential side effects to get a clear picture of the overall safety. Short-term use of melatonin supplements appears to be safe for most people, but information regarding the long-term safety of melatonin supplements is lacking.
What conditions might melatonin supplements help?
- Jet lag, which affects people when they travel by air across multiple time zones. Research suggests that melatonin supplements may help with jet lag.
- Delayed sleep-wake phase disorder (DSWPD) People with Delayed sleep-wake phase disorder have trouble falling asleep at their usual times and getting up in the morning. They usually find it difficult to fall asleep before 2-6 a.m. and prefer to get up between 10 a.m. 1 a.m. and 1 p.m. Melatonin supplements appear to aid sleep in people with delayed sleep-wake phase disorder, but it is uncertain if the benefits outweigh the potential harms.
- Melatonin supplements seem to help reduce anxiety before surgery, but it’s not clear if they help reduce anxiety after surgery.
Precautions when using melatonin
- Interactions with medications. As with all dietary supplements, people taking medications should consult their health care providers before using melatonin. In particular, people with epilepsy who take blood-thinning medications should be under medical supervision when taking melatonin supplements.
- There may be a risk of allergic reactions to melatonin supplements.
- There is a lack of research on the safety of melatonin use in pregnant or breastfeeding women.
- 2015 guidelines from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommend that melatonin not be used by people with dementia; Older adults may stay active longer than younger people, and cause daytime drowsiness.
What are the side effects of melatonin?
- a headache
- Dizziness
- nausea
- drowsiness
- The potential long-term side effects of melatonin use are unclear.
Enjoying a good night’s sleep after corona virus
Stress, anxiety, and turmoil have made our nocturnal slumber worse, giving rise to terms like “coronavirus insomnia” to describe the increase in sleep disturbances over the past year.
In his report published New York Times (The New York Times) introduced writer Onahad O’Connor, tips to overcome insomnia:
- Follow the 25-minute rule; If you lie in bed and can’t sleep after 25 minutes, or if you wake up at night and can’t fall back to sleep after 25 minutes, don’t stay in bed. Get up and do an activity that calms your mind and makes you sleepy. “Just get up, don’t get anxious,” said Matthew Walker, a professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California. “If you stay in bed awake for long periods of time, your brain will think that ‘every time I lie in bed, this is where you should be.'” to be in it awake.’ So, you need to break that link.”
In fact, do any activity that will relax you. Get up and do stretching exercises, sit on your couch and meditate, or read a magazine. Read a book in dim light, do deep breathing exercises, or listen to a soothing podcast. In addition, you can sit on a chair and draw or knit if you like. Then, when you start to feel sleepy again, go back to bed and try to sleep. So don’t go to bed unless you are tired. - Get rid of your fears, sit in front of a blank sheet of paper one to two hours before bed every night. Write down all your thoughts, especially the ones that bother you. It could be what you’re going to do at work tomorrow, the phone calls you have to make, or the bills you have to pay. Sleep medicine specialist Eileen Rosen said that “writing your thoughts on a piece of paper and then throwing it away will contribute to calming your mind, because you have got rid of the thoughts that revolve in it.”
- We all know that we shouldn’t dwell on our bright screens until late at night because the blue light they emit gives the illusion that it’s time to wake up. But many of us do it anyway. That’s why, if you’re going to use your phone or device when it’s time for bed, use it only while standing. And when you feel like sitting or lying down, put the device away from you.
Top daily habits for a better sleep
- Wake up every morning at the same time.
- Get sunlight every morning, and get at least 15 minutes of sunlight each morning.
- Don’t work out of bed, and make it only for sleeping. Working from bed can delude your mind that your bed is a source of stress and irritability, which can lead to insomnia. For this reason, sleep experts have said that you should use your bed to sleep.
- Exercise for better sleep نوم
- Stop consuming caffeine at 2 pm.
When do you ask for help?
You don’t have to worry about occasional bouts of insomnia. On the other hand, if you’ve made some changes to your sleep regime and are not benefiting from it, it may be time to see your doctor.