Dr. Michael Grandner
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
It's a very old molecule.
It's in plants.
It's in other stuff.
It's not a sleep hormone.
except by association.
Melatonin is the hormone of darkness.
Melatonin is a nighttime signal.
You produce it at night.
A great example of how it's not a sleep signal.
It has no sedating properties whatsoever.
Melatonin doesn't.
You give melatonin to a nocturnal animal, it wakes them up because it's a nighttime signal.
To the degree to which your body gets a nighttime signal and that makes you sleepy, yes, it can promote sleep.
Melatonin can promote sleep in humans for that reason.
It can help you fall asleep faster.
It can help you stay asleep.
It can help you sleep more restfully because it's strengthening that nighttime signal.
That's what it does.
It's also why it is almost universally useless for insomnia.
Because if you have a conditioned arousal, remember, now everyone knows what conditioned arousal is.