Melatonin is a popular sleep aid.
Heralded as a "natural" cure for insomnia, I take a look and see if the hype is true and what the side effects are, in this article.
You toss and turn all night long trying to get to sleep.
But there's no way that you're going to take any kind of drugs to help you sleep.
Could the "natural" cure, melatonin, be the answer to your worries? Let's take a look.
This has been around in the stores for some time now.
Actually, it's been around for much longer than you might think.
Melatonin is a hormone that is secreted in the brain to cause drowsiness.
This is a totally natural process.
But you can take it in an over the counter pill.
May people, especially business travellers have reported great results at being able to go to sleep easily and counteract jetlag.
In the short term, there appears to be no side effects.
It makes a great alternative to prescription drugs or other sleeping aids.
But for insomniacs who use it for the long term, there can be some side effects.
For instance, there can be irritability, increased incidence of nightmares and hormone fluctuations.
It can also be bad for people with immune system disorders and some cardiovascular conditions.
Nausea is a common symptom.
Also, because it is considered to be a dietary supplement then it is not regulated and tested by the FDA.
So the long term side effects are mostly unknown.
There is some growing evidence however that long term use could cause retina damage in the eyes.