Experts tell us that we sleep 1/3 of our lives away, but for those of us with insomnia, sleep itself is just a dream waiting to come true.

Tick, tick, tick… The inability to get a good night’s sleep can literally rob us of the other two-thirds of our day. You rise, you go to work, and you feel totally out of step, out of time, and out of rhythm with the day ahead of you. More importantly, you’re tired with a weariness that can lead to poor productivity on the job or even worse, accident at work or on the drive to or from work.

For instance, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that driver fatigue from sleep deprivation causes100,000 motor vehicle accidents a year. One of the most noticeable effects of insomnia is an increase in accidents. A recent report in Business Week maintained that a person who has been awake for 24 hours has the same “mental acuity” as someone who has a blood alcohol level of 0.1, a figure far above the legal limit for driving in most American states.

Furthermore, sleep disorders cost us somewhere between $45 and $60 billion dollars per year in lost productivity, medical costs, and litigation.

You can fantasize fluffy sheep and drink warm milk until the cows come home, but what really counts for a perfect night’s sleep is synchronizing your internal clock.

The pineal (pih-nee-all) gland is a pinecone-shaped, pea-sized gland situated just above the middle of the brain. For many years it was called “the third eye”. Although we can’t see it or see through it, the pineal gland essentially helps us keep track of the difference between day and night. At dusk, this third eye opens and secretes the hormone melatonin, which helps us to relax and prepare to sleep.

Normally, melatonin levels increase rapidly from late evening until about midnight and then decrease as the night wanes. In this way, melatonin adjusts our body's 24-hour “clock" (called the circadian rhythms). The circadian rhythms set the times for hormone production, natural elevations and decreases in body temperature, as well as sleep/awake times.

Even so, darkness and light are key to melatonin production. The pineal gland can be hoodwinked by either too intense artificial light at night or too little light during daylight hours, thus altering normal melatonin cycles and distorting sleep patterns leading to the frustrations of sleepless nights and fatigue-filled days.



Resetting Your Internal Clock

When sleep doesn’t occur naturally, both prescription and over-the-counter sleep aids are in abundance. However, while sleep aids put you to sleep, they don’t solve the problem of a poorly set clock. Moreover, the most effective sleep aids are issued only by prescription. The trend today is to call these drugs “hypnotics”, but the truth is that hypnotic, sedative, anti-anxiety drugs, minor tranquilizers, and anxiolytics are often used interchangeably and all hypnotics pose some risk of overdose, increased tolerance, addiction, and withdrawal symptoms as well as various side effects that range from simple daytime drowsiness to amnesia. Rebound wakefulness is another common symptom upon withdrawal from heavy doses of hypnotics. Some of the stronger hypnotics, like valium, can cause confusion. The NSF recommends that before treating any sleep problem, you should consult your health care professional to make sure you understand the cause of your sleep problem.

Although any sleep-aid should be considered only after consulting a health care professional, numerous studies suggest that, when the problem is a misset internal clock, melatonin supplements are a natural treatment method that can solve the problem of sleeplessness rather than treating only the symptoms.



Melatonin Supplements

Melatonin is a hormone, produced from the amino acid tryptophan, found naturally in some foods, like turkey. Because melatonin occurs naturally in foods, melatonin supplements are available for over-the-counter purchase. Melatonin is one of the least toxic substances known.

Yet, because melatonin is a powerful hormone, before deciding on a supplement, it’s important to thoroughly examine the types of melatonin available.

The two types of melatonin supplements are natural (pharmacy grade) and synthetic. Natural melatonin comes from the pineal glands of animals. However, natural melatonin may carry viruses and is not recommended for human consumption.

Although melatonin has yet to be FDA approved, the FDA reports that it has received no claims of harmful side effects since supplements were made available for purchase. The most typical side effect is to feel drowsy or “hung over” on waking. However, studies suggest that this side effect is caused only by taking too much melatonin and can be eliminated by decreasing your dosage.

Synthetic forms of melatonin are available in both capsule and tablet form. Most experts recommend taking from 1 to 3 milligrams of Melatonin 20 minutes to one hour before retiring. Some synonyms for melatonin are

• acetamide
  
• luzindole
  
• mel
  
• melatonine
  

However, there is one caution with long-term use of a melatonin supplement. Long-term use may result in the body ceasing natural production of the hormone. An alternative to taking a melatonin supplement is to take one of its precursors, L-tryptophan or 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP). Yet, the advantage to taking these precursors rather than a melatonin supplement is that they encourage the natural production of the hormone, naturally resetting your body’s internal clock, and ultimately improving your quality of sleep.



Assessing Your Melatonin Levels

Unsure if low Melatonin levels are to blame for another night of restless sleep? As opposed to guessing, it might be worthwhile for some of you to be certain of just “how” efficiently your body is producing melatonin naturally, and if lacking, to correct it...naturally of course. SleepCheck is a safe, easy-to-use, and reliable screen that uses a saliva sample to measure the level of melatonin in your body. This noninvasive and inexpensive screen provides the accuracy of a laboratory analysis without you having to leave the comfort of your own home. When you order your screen, we'll send a complete kit to you. You collect the required saliva sample and send it back in the prepaid return mailer provided. The first saliva sample needs to be collected at 8 a.m. (after a good night's sleep!) when melatonin levels are at their lowest and the second sample at 12 midnight when levels are at their peak. Within 7-10 working days of receiving your sample, your laboratory analysis will be sent to you for your review.