Melatonin seems to be everybody’s favorite sleep aid but you may be less aware of just how important melatonin is for hormone regulation. Your entire endocrine system relies on rhythms and routine in your life so that it secretes just the right amount of each hormone, at the right time for you to fall asleep and stay asleep, have a regular period, wake up and sustain energy throughout your day, and on and on. That routine is strongly influenced by your environment and especially the light and darkness your are exposed to throughout the day.
Melatonin is made in the pineal gland (and minimally in the gut and immune cells), which is this super ancient part of your brain that responds too light. For it to be secreted appropriately, which means as you’re winding down your day and while you sleep, we really need to be respecting the natural laws of sunlight. Ancestrally, humans wouldn’t have been exposed to light beyond the moon at certain times of the month and fire light, which means primarily red light and some full spectrum light as the moon became more full. Electronics and artificial light operate with a much higher percentage of blue and green lights, with far less of a full spectrum of light, which tells our pineal gland it’s daytime and prevents the full potential of melatonin production. Low melatonin can lead to sleep issues but it can also affect sex hormone balance as well as our immune function, specifically related to cancer cell growth. It’s also been show to increase weight gain post menopause because of it’s affect on estrogen receptors.
As we experience these darkest days of the year and beyond, there are some really great ways to adjust your environment to support melatonin production and ultimately happy hormones.
1. Choose incandescent lights over LED
2. Use candle light (ideally, beeswax) after dark
3. Install blackout curtains and sleep with an eye mask
4. Cover electronic lights with black electrical tape
5. Use salt lamps or red lightbulbs in lights you may need to turn on during the night or early morning
6. Install blue light blocking screen protectors or use glasses when using electronics after dark.
