Calming Minerals of Serotonin and Melatonin Help You Sleep
During the daytime, adrenalin levels are higher and keep you stimulated. As you start to wind down, serotonin levels rise and adrenalin levels fall. As it gets darker another neurotransmitter, melatonin, kicks in. Melatonin is an almost identical molecule to serotonin, from which it is made, and both are made from the amino acid tryptophan. Melatonin’s main role in the brain is to regulate the sleep/wake cycle. Interestingly, melatonin is produced in the light-sensitive pineal gland in the centre of the brain, also known as the third eye and considered by Rene Descartes to be the seat of the soul. Have you ever thought about where the light comes from when you dream?
As we learnt earlier, many people, especially women, become serotonin deficient. Without enough serotonin you don’t make enough melatonin. Without melatonin it is difficult to get to sleep and stay asleep. Waking far too early in the morning and not being able to get back to sleep is a classic symptom of deficiency of these essential brain chemicals.
Adequate amounts of B6 and tryptophan are needed for you to get sleepy. Foods that are particularly high in tryptophan are chicken, cheese, tuna, tofu, eggs, nuts, seeds and milk. As usual, a traditional remedy — drinking a glass of milk before bed — becomes grounded in science. Other foods associated with inducing sleep are lettuce and oats.
Most effective of all is supplementing 5-HTP or melatonin itself. 5-HTP (hydroxytryptophan) is the direct precursor of serotonin and by supplementing it you can increase levels of melatonin and serotonin. 5-HTP is very highly concentrated in the seeds of the African griffonia plant. Supplementing 100mg to 200mg of 5-HTP half an hour before sleep helps you get a good night’s sleep. Tryptophan, 2,000mg a night, also works but is not available over the counter. It is, however, available on prescription from your doctor.
Melatonin, which is a neurotransmitter, not a nutrient, can also be helpful, but needs to be used much more cautiously. This is because supplementing too much can have undesirable effects such as diarrhoea, constipation, nausea, dizziness, reduced libido, headaches, depression and nightmares. However, if you do sleep badly you may want to try 3mg before bedtime.
Sometimes supplementing 5-HTP or melatonin for a month can bring you back into balance, re-establishing proper sleep patterns, after which the supplements become unnecessary to continue. This is a great way to wean yourself of more harmful sleeping pills.
Melatonin is also very useful for jetlag, when your body clock goes out of sync with the earth. The best way to bring yourself back into balance is to supplement lmg of melatonin for every one-hour time difference, just before your new bedtime. So, if you fly from London to LA, which is eight hours behind, you take 8mg on the first night, then halve it to 4mg for the second night, 2mg for the third, then lmg then stop. Always take it just before you want to go to sleep and halve the dose each night. Melatonin cannot be bought over the counter in Britain, but can be bought for your own personal use by mail order or on the Web from the US where these restrictions don’t apply.
Calming Minerals
A lack of the minerals calcium and magnesium can trigger or exacerbate sleep difficulties because they work together to calm the body and help relax nerves and muscles. Magnesium levels may well be low if you are particularly stressed or consume too much sugar. Including some magnesium in the evening, perhaps even in a supplement, may help. Your diet is more likely to be low in magnesium than calcium — so make sure you are eating plenty of magnesium-rich foods such as seeds, nuts, green vegetables, wholegrains and seafood. Milk products, green vegetables, nuts, seafood and molasses are particularly good sources of calcium. Some people find it helpful to supplement 600mg of calcium and 400mg of magnesium at bedtime. Ensuring adequate B vitamins daily help support the body in many ways, including its ability to deal with stress — take B-complex vitamins earlier in the day rather than in the evening, though, as they are also involved in energy production and keep some people awake.
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