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 Melatonin - What is it?

Have you ever wondered why you get tired at night and wake up when it becomes light outside?  The reason has to do with melatonin.  Melatonin is a hormone that is made by the pineal gland in the brain using the amino acid, tryptophan.  Melatonin’s synthesis and release is facilitatated and stimulated by darkness and is suppressed by light.  So basically it regulates the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle.

You can obtain synthetic melatonin supplements basically from anywhere that carries vitamins and supplements.  Melatonin supplements have been used for many years to treat various medical conditions, especially those where the natural sleep-wake cycle has been altered such as; jet lag, delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS), sleep disorders that occur in blind people, and sleep disorders in children and those with neuro-psychiatric disorders.  Melatonin is also used to treat sleep enhancement in healthy individuals.
Melatonin that is found in dietary supplements is often made synthetically but is chemically identical to the melatonin that is naturally produced in the body.  Supplements are required to list their ingredient sources, however if it is not listed it is assumed that it is synthetic.

The FDA does not regulate melatonin supplements for quality assurance.  This lead to ConsumerLab.com conducting their own tests on melatonin supplements.  Their aim was to determine if the lables met their claims, to ensure that they digest properly, and to ensure that they do not contain unacceptable levels of lead.   ConsumerLab.com tested 17 supplements; ten of which they selected and the other 7 were tested at the request of their manufacturer or distributor.

ConsumerLab.com determined that all 17 supplements contained their claimed amounts of melatonin, ranging from 750mcg to to 5,000 mcg (1,000 mcg=1 mg).  In addition all of the supplements tested disentegrated properly and passed all lead contamination tests.