5 Symptoms Associated With Melatonin Deficiency

Having a melatonin deficiency can cause numerous symptoms due to the importance of this in our brain. Melatonin is a hormone that is synthesized from tryptophan and is produced in the pineal gland.

It is quite possible that just by hearing your name we can immediately tell what your role is: mediate between the sleep-wake cycle and act as that biological clock that induces us to enjoy a deep rest at night.

However, it should be noted that when there is a deficit in the production of melatonin, our body can present alterations in our mood and even memory problems.

Thanks to this hormone, and just as a brief summary:

• We take care of the immune system.
• We stop premature aging.
• We can protect ourselves from different disorders such as depression or stress.
• We delay or prevent the onset of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Today we want to talk to you about what symptoms are usually associated with a deficiency in this hormone. We are sure that you will find the topic as useful as it is interesting. Keep reading!

The 5 main symptoms of melatonin deficiency

1. Changes in your mood

We are aware that our mood tends to vary on a regular basis. and even on the same day. However, they are specific events that we almost always know how to manage and solve. However, if there is something that mediates directly in certain depressive or anxiety states, it is hormonal alterations.

• Melatonin is usually highly produced until we enter adolescence. From here it begins to decrease a bit, until the arrival of the 40s it is common to experience a more drastic deficit.
• If we add to the natural decrease in this hormone our lifestyle and specific events such as working at night or sleeping little, all this causes the level of melatonin to plummet.

• A low level of melatonin is also associated with a low level of serotonin (the so-called happiness hormone).

Depression has, therefore, in some cases, a purely hormonal origin that can be resolved with adequate pharmacological treatment.

2. Restless legs

Restless legs syndrome or Willis-Ekbom disease is a disorder of neurological origin that suffers a significant part of the population.

• It is a very exhausting medical condition in which uncomfortable sensations occur in the legs while we are lying down and that, however, disappear when we move. One of its origins is related to a melatonin deficiency.

3. Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism is related to an underactive thyroid gland. This hypoactivity also has its origin in cell damage.

• It is interesting to know that one of the basic functions of melatonin is to act as one of the most powerful antioxidants in our body.
• It is she who takes care of protecting us from cell damage. Therefore, a large deficit of melatonin mediates the onset of hypothyroidism.

3. Problems with our night rest

If we wake up to the minimum in the middle of the night, if we find it difficult to fall asleep, and even if we fall asleep in the morning when it is not playing, it is very possible that we have a melatonin deficiency.

However,  melatonin supplements should not be used against insomnia without first consulting a specialist. Besides, we must also take into account:

• The first thing is to know what causes our inability to fall asleep.
• What consumption of melatonin does is induce sleep, but it does not maintain it.  That is, if we suffer from chronic insomnia, the most normal thing is that we wake up within a few hours.

In any case, it will always be our doctor who informs us about the advisability of taking it or not.

4. Memory problems

Melatonin not only regulates our biological cycles, it also mediates the balance of our neurotransmitters.

• This means that, as we get older and its level decreases, it is normal to experience some other cognitive failure, such as lack of attention or memory.
• It is common for doctors to recommend melatonin-based supplements after 55 or 60 years to reduce this impact on our brain health.

Thanks to it, the activity of those neurotransmitters is harmonized that allow us to be more receptive to everything that surrounds us.

5. Premature aging and melatonin

Walter Pierpaoli is a neuroendocrinologist who has gained notable fame thanks to his book The Miracle of Melatonin . As he himself explains,  “people get older because she gets older” and, especially, because arrival middle age, our body no longer has adequate levels of melatonin to stop the oxidative stress of cells.

However, and this is important to clarify, it is not about consuming melatonin supplements constantly as a supposed remedy for eternal youth. And much less without consulting your doctor first.

Ideally, first eat a healthy diet rich in tryptophan, which can be found in foods such as:

• Eggs.
• Dark chocolate.
• Spirulina.
• Banana, banana, pineapple, avocado, plums.
• Watercress, spinach, beets, carrots, celery, alfalfa, broccoli, dates.
• Almonds, walnuts, pistachios, cashews.
• Chickpeas, lentils, beans, soy.
• Beer yeast.

We must also take care of our life habits, always adjusting to the cycles of light and dark. That is, we must avoid spending a long time in artificial light environments and always try to sleep at night.

Finally, we will consult the suitability of consuming melatonin supplements with our doctors. In this way, we will be able to cope much better with premature aging.