This advice is based on the reported anti-aging and life-enhancing effects of melatonin, a natural substance secreted by the pineal gland, a pea-sized structure found deep within the brain.
Its primary role is to regulate the cycle of sleep and wakefulness, which is why it is prescribed as a natural sleep enhancer. Frequent travelers who experience jet lag and those suffering from sleeping disorders, such as insomnia, attest to the wonders of melatonin as a natural sleep aid.
However, researchers are looking beyond melatonin’s sleep-enhancing effects and probing its potential as an anti-aging pill. Animal experiments show that melatonin caused a significant 20 percent increase in their lifespan.
Aside from extending lifespan, melatonin seemed to make mice "age gracefully." They are plumper, their furs glossier and they are obviously more active than normal mice their age.
Since this first convincing evidence of the life-extending ability of melatonin, scientists are now finding the reasons to establish how the hormone may cause improvement in the quality and quantity of a person’s life. Scientists are now correlating the abilities of melatonin to the theories of aging.
One theory is focused on the immune system, stating that a body is only as good as the ability of its immune system to protect it. Another theory suggests that a key factor in the aging process is a breakdown of the body’s internal timing mechanism. Once our biological rhythms falter, the body can no longer function in an efficient manner.
Melatonin is believed to influence these mechanisms of aging. First, melatonin enhances the body’s immune systems by acting as an antioxidant which hunts down naturally occurring, cell-damaging compounds called free radicals that can lead to heart disease, cataracts and other age-related degenerative changes.
In fact, Prof. RJ Reiter, researcher and author of the book Melatonin, considers the hormone as the best antioxidant to protect against the ravaging effects of free radicals.
Drs. Walter Pierpaoli and William Regelson, renowned authorities on melatonin and authors of the bestseller Melatonin Miracle, believe that melatonin is the key to resetting the clock of aging. The pineal gland from which the melatonin is excreted, is said to be the aging clock, while melatonin acts as its messenger.
According to health experts, the pineal gland constantly monitors the body for signs of decline. As we age, melatonin levels in our body drop and it is when we begin to exhibit serious signs of aging.
Our body then begins to be more vulnerable to daily wear and tear; there is a general decline in physical, and possibly mental, functioning. During the latter half of life, an individual is more prone to have problems with the various functions of the body and to develop a number of chronic or fatal diseases.
According to Pierpaoli and Regelson, taking melatonin supplements can help "trick" the pineal gland into thinking that we are still young. It will regulate the body clock, solve the sleeping problems that the aging process usually brings, while resetting the internal body clock, and consequently, reverse the aging process.
Research conducted over the past two decades confirmed that melatonin has antioxidant, immuno-protective and sleep-regulating properties. Moreover, researchers are now looking at its potential as a prophylaxis against osteoporosis and a possible new adjunction in the fight against cancer.
Locally, a leading brand of melatonin is Trianon’s Melatonin-T, which comes in 3-mg capsules and is available as an over-the-counter supplement in all Mercury Drug outlets and in other leading drugstores like I-mart.
It is manufactured by NOW International (formerly HealthCo), one of the leading manufacturers of vitamins and food supplements in the United States. Melatonin-T is recommended at a dose of one to two capsules (3-6 mg) to be taken 30 minutes before bedtime.