If you are habitual of getting up in the middle of every night then there is a fair chance that you know about the melatonin supplement. But does melatonin help with anxiety?
Melatonin is a natural hormone present in the human body that reachespeak levels at night. The major role played by this hormone is the induction of sleep. A deficiency of the protein in the body can lead to a number of complications such as:
- High blood pressure
- Cardiovascular disease
- Insomnia and sleep disorders
- Anxiety and stress
- Macular degeneration (eye issues)
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Male pattern balding
- Headaches
- Early aging
According to a2019 study, melatonin deficiency is linked to increased oxidative stress of the body. This rise of oxidative stress leads to a number of serious complications including anxiety, depression, and heart diseases.
A lot of people across the globe suffer from an unknowing melatonin deficiency. Melatonin supplementation can have plenty of health benefits including a reduction in anxiety.
Melatonin Health Benefits (Other Than Anxiety)
Adding melatonin supplements to the diet can be beneficial in a number of ways:
Antioxidant Effect
Any supplement containing melatonin will rid your body of oxidative stress. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) cause damage to your organs and make your energy nosedive. Melatonin has strong antioxidant properties.Studies suggest that melatonin imparts appreciable anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.
It was found inanother study that 20mg/kg supplementation of melatonin can effectively fight oxidative stress. Melatonin isfound to be four times as potent as vitamin C and twice as potent as vitamin E in scavenging free radicals, thereby, proving to be an efficacious antioxidant.
Boosts Immune System
Nature works on the principle of“survival of the fittest”.In today’s world, the fittest is the person who has the strongest immune system, and immune system capable of fighting novel coronavirus. Astudy suggests that melatonin also boosts your immune system.
Moreover, the supplement can prevent oxidative damage and promote the production of immune cells, astudy suggests.
Anti-Cancer Effect
Cancer is a dangerous, life-threatening disease that needs multiple treatment strategies to work. As per a2019 study, melatonin supplementation boosts your immune system to combat cancerous cells.
This protein supplement combats cancer in a number of ways i.e. it imparts anti-cancer effects itself and also boosts the performance of anti-cancer therapies (chemotherapy especially). According to astudy, it has a beneficial effect in colorectal cancer by altering induction of apoptosis (cell death) whileanother study declares that it enhances the potential of doxorubicin in killing cancerous cells.
Melatonin For Anxiety And Complications Of Anxiety
Anxiety is a normal bodily response to stress. The response should be short-lived i.e. only until the trigger is present. The removal of the triggering agent should lead to the alleviation of stress and anxiety symptoms. However, some people have a persistent feeling of stress and anxiety that doesn’t just go away. Such a condition is termed as anxiety disorders
Before we jump on to the impact of melatonin on anxiety we should have a look at what anxiety (disorder) is and how it impacts the body.
Anxiety Disorders
There are different types of anxiety disorder for which melatonin can be a beneficial therapy.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Patients suffering from generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are anxious and strained over petty issues. It is not specific to any one activity.
Panic Disorder/Attacks
A panic attack is an acute exacerbation of anxiety that is characterized by elevated heart rate, difficulty breathing, and sweating. Patients may get anxious over any emotional issue and have a strong manifestation of anxiety.
Social Anxiety Disorder
People suffering from social anxiety disorder are reluctant to go out into public and feel anxious in interacting with other people.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
PTSD is the result of a traumatic experience. The patient suffers from anxiety on encountering elements/objects or memories that remind the patient of the injury/trauma.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorder patients get a constant urge to perform daily chores. Such patients are found doing the same action (such as washing hands, cleaning rooms) repeatedly.
Complications Associated With Anxiety
Anxiety itself might be the benign infirmity while complications arising from it damage you more. The major complications that occur as a result of anxiety include:
- Depression
- Hypertension
- Heart problems
- Insomnia
- Headaches
Following are the effects of melatonin on different types of anxiety disorders and complications of anxiety:
Melatonin For Anxiety Disorders
It was revealed in astudy that melatonin is responsible for raising levels of a certain type of neurotransmitters in the body (GABA). This increase is directly related to a reduction in anxiety symptoms.
It was found inanother study that melatonin and agomelatine administration leads to evident reductions in anxiety. When given in the form of agomelatine, melatonin is efficacious in managing generalized anxiety disorder as confirmed by arandomized controlled study.
Surgical Procedures
Patients about to undergo surgery are faced with stress and anxiety. If you are about to undergo any sort of surgery, we recommend you add some melatonin supplements to your diet. According to astudy, sublingual administration of melatonin premedication is efficacious in reducing anxiety for patients undergoing eye surgery.
Another study found melatonin to be effective against infection-induced anxiety, thereby making it an adjuvant in anti-anxiety therapy. It can be used as an anti-anxiety supplement pre and post-operation.
Cardiac patients who suffer from acute coronary syndrome usually have disturbed sleep-wake cycles that can lead to anxiety and depressive symptoms. Using anti-depressant medicines (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) is the first line of treatment but it comes at the cost of side effects. A2017 randomized controlled trial found melatonin to be as effective in relieving anxiety and had lesser side effects.
Melatonin supplements can be utilized well by patients undergoing surgery and therapy. Arandomized controlled trial found out that melatonin significantly reduces anxiety and chances of depression in patients undergoing breast cancer surgery.
According toresearch, melatonin helps in alleviating anxiety and dental phobia, plus it is beneficial for oral health too.
Melatonin VS Anxiolytics
Melatonin supplementation can play a crucial role in alleviating the psychogenic symptoms of Alzheimer’s patients. As perresearch, melatonin supplementation leads to evident amelioration of anxiety and depression-like symptoms.
Adetailed systematic analysis vouches for the strong anxiolytic properties of melatonin. The review based on 12 randomized trials concludes that melatonin is as effective as common anti-anxiety medicines such as midazolam.
Sleep deprivation can lead to serious consequences, one of them being anxiety and stress. Melatonin seems to show promising results in alleviating anxiety-like behavior due to sleep deprivation. In astudy carried out on rats, it was concluded that melatonin prevents anxiety by reducing oxidative stress and re-establishing the balance between GABAergic and glutamatergic transmission.
Melatonin For Depression
Clinical depression affects a large number of people across the globe. The disease is difficult to diagnose and even more difficult to treat. Antidepressant medications are suitable for many but their use is limited due to the adverse effects they have.
The root cause of depression is anxiety. The most common complication of long-standing anxiety is depression. Luckily, melatonin can calm down your body and pull you out of depression too.
A dose of 50-100 mg/day of melatonin was found to be very effective in alleviating symptoms in depression patients, astudy suggests. Participants of the study also noted having better sleep with the melatonin supplement.
Winter depression is a mysterious malady where the patients have bouts of depressive symptoms in winters. Doctors and scientists still don’t have a plausible explanation for this phenomenon but it is true. As per apilot study, low-dose melatonin in the afternoon can significantly reduce winter depression in patients.
Another study claims that melatonin has a rapid action on depressive symptoms. The supplement can also aid in falling asleep. Keeping in mind the exceptional anxiolytic and antidepressant properties of melatonin, it can be used as adjuvant therapy in treating depression and insomnia, astudy suggests.
Melatonin For Cardiovascular Issues And Hypertension
Hypertension is the ultimate result of persistent anxiety that can lead to dangerous, life-threatening conditions such as atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, and stroke. It affects 90% of the elderly population. Exogenous melatonin can aid in managing the raised blood pressure.
According to astudy, melatonin acts as an anti-hypertensive substance that also reduces the chances of cardiovascular events.
Another study concludes that melatonin can be pretty effective for patients suffering from nocturnal hypertension. The supplement leads to evident reductions in arterial blood pressure at night.
A 2mg dose of exogenous melatonin daily at night taken for 4 weeks can sufficiently reduce systolic blood pressure in patients suffering from nocturnal hypertension, astudy suggests. The greatest change in the arterial pressure was noted during 2 am and 5 am.
Melatonin supplementation can be beneficial in the management ofessential hypertension too.
Melatonin For Sleep (Insomnia)
Sleep and anxiety disorders areinterlinked as one can lead to the other. Sleep deprivation is a major cause of anxiety. On the other hand, people suffering from anxiety have a hard time falling and maintaining sleep. Therefore, addressing one issue can resolve the other and vice versa.
There are a myriad of studies that promote the use of melatonin in inducing sleep. There are a number of ways by which melatonin enhances sleep. As per astudy, melatonin has the potential of easing sleeplessness in insomniacs.
Ameta-analysis concludes that melatonin supplement improves sleep onset, sleep efficiency, and sleep duration too, thus, making it an effective treatment option for insomnia. You can see improvements in sleep quality even if you are takingmelatonin in your diet.
According to asystematic review and meta-analysis, exogenous melatonin can be effective in the treatment of secondary sleep disorders too. This effect can be attributed to the role ofmelatonin receptors (MT1 and MT2) in the induction of sleep.
Another2020 meta-analysis concludes that melatonin is safe for both adolescents and adults in treating insomnia. The supplement is well-tolerated and efficiently works for sleep-onset insomnia.
Other maneuvers that increase melatonin secretion in the body also lead to subtle positive changes in the sleep-wake cycle. According to astudy, acupuncture helps increase the melatonin levels in the body. The ultimate result of this increase in melatonin was a significant reduction in anxiety and improvement in sleep efficiency and latency.
Anxiety treatment improves sleep and vice versa, astudy suggests.
How To Take Melatonin For Anxiety And Stress?
You can acquire melatonin tablets to combat anxiety and stress. It is believed that 3-10 mg of melatonin before bedtime is effective in inducing sleep and flushing out the anxiety.
Herbal Supplements For Anxiety
You can also find different herbal supplements that can fight chronic stress and anxiety:
Ashwagandha
The highly revered herb has strong anxiolytic andsleep-inducing potential. According to a2017 study, 10-30mg/day doses of ashwagandha can help you sleep better. Anotherrandomized controlled study concludes that Withania somnifera extract effectively improves sleep quality in adults.
Saffron
There are numerous studies that praise the use of saffron for reducing anxiety. According to ameta-analysis, saffron has the potential to be used in the management of anxiety disorders.Another study claims that melatonin supplement imparts therapeutic benefits in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders.
Where Can I Find The Best Supplements?
You can get the best organic supplements for anxiety atBeherbal.com. If you are suffering from chronic stress and anxiety theChill pill anti-anxiety formula is just the thing you need. Adding some Deep sleep aid to your daily routine will rid you of anxiety and also let you sleep better.
TheAshwagandha extractandGolden saffron are also available to flush out anxiety while rejuvenating your body.
Conclusion
Melatonin is a natural hormone that monitors the sleep-wake cycle. A reduction in these hormones leads to anxiety, stress, and insomnia. Exogenous supplementation with melatonin can bring about alleviations in anxiety and anxiety disorders. The supplement can also help counter complications of anxiety such as hypertension, insomnia, and depression.
