Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland, a pebble-sized gland located deep in our brain. This gland starts to secrete melatonin around dusk, with maximal secretion around 2 am and decreasing secretion as daylight appears.

The main function of melatonin is to regulate the body's daily biorhythms including a normal sleep cycle - in other words, melatonin helps tell the body when to sleep and when to wake up.

The health benefits of melatonin include:

• Help people fall asleep faster and improve sleep quality
  Studies of adults and the elderly show that taking small amounts of melatonin before bedtime allows them to fall asleep faster and stay asleep throughout the night. These results were obtained from both insomniacs and those who suffer from only occassional sleep problems.
  
  
• Treat jet lag
  Melatonin can help your body adjust to a new time zone by quickly re-establishing normal sleep patterns. In studies of airline personnel and frequent travelers, melatonin was found to help relieve the symptoms of jet lags, including fatigue, daytime sleepiness, and night time sleeplessness.
  
  
• Treat sleeplessness due to stress or pain
  Melatonin was found to help those who frequently awaken in the middle of the night due to stress or pain. When chronic pain or stress sufferers take a melatonin supplement, they tend stay asleep longer.
  
  
• Treat depression due to SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)
  Many people suffer from SAD but do not yet know it - people who have this condition often feel fine, healthy and energetic during the summer but become depressed and fatigued during winter.
  
  People with SAD often have low melatonin levels. Preliminary studies suggested that small amounts of melatonin may help improve the mood of SAD sufferers.
  
  

Select Scientific References

• Cajochen C et al. Role of melatonin in the regulation of human circadian rhythms and sleep. J Neuroendocrinol 2003; 15(4):432-7.
• Miller AL. Epidemilogy, etiology, and natural treatment of seasonal affective disorder. Altern Med Rev 2005; 10(1):5-13.
• Cardinali DP et al. Melatonin in sleep disorders and jet-lag. Neuro Endocrinol Lett 2002; 23 Suppl 1:9-13.

In addition to pure crystalline melatonin, Anchor Health Melatonin also contains:

• Vitamin B6
  This workhorse vitamin is involved in no fewer than 100 different chemical and metabolic processes in our body every day - it is involved in the production of amino acids, hormones, and neurotransmitters.
  
  The health benefits of vitamin B6 is also wide-ranging: it helps protect the skin, fight depression, relieve PMS symptoms, and so on.
  
  Of particular interest is vitamin B6's function in sleep: low levels of this vitamin has been linked with chronic insomnia. In fact, vitamin B6 supplement is often used to treat sleeplessness.
  
  
• Niacin
  Niacin, or vitamin B3, is essential for many of our organs, including skin, nerves, and digestive organs. This essential nutrient is required for releasing energy from carbohydrates, controlling cholesterol level, improving blood flow, and more. Niacin can also help relieve depression, anxiety, and panic attacks.