Melatonin is a hormone produced predominantly by our pineal gland located just below the middle of our brains that regulates our sleep wake cycle and when supplemented helps us recover from jet lag. It also has number of other benefits including possibly preventing a host of cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, skin ageing, osteoporosis, age-related muscle loss and heart disease. Unfortunately, we produce less of this hormone as we age which lessens its upside.
Aside from going to bed earlier at night while reducing our exposure to any blue light emanating from screens, immersing ourselves in morning sunlight for about 20 minutes switches on nocturnal melatonin production which will not only help us to sleep more easily it will also go some way to ramping up the presence of a hormone that can counter the diseases of ageing.
