The great lack of knowledge about melatonin means that there is great confusion about it and many questions with no apparent answer, not only among users but also in the medical community itself, where 90% of the great therapeutic properties of melatonin beyond sleep induction are unknown.

Why is this happening, what are the benefits of melatonin for our health, how to take it, what is the truth and what is a lie about the so-called "sleep hormone"? We answer these and other questions in this article, prepared jointly with Dr. Jesús A. F. Tresguerres, member of the Physiology Department of the Faculty of Medicine of the Complutense University of Madrid and collaborator of Phexia, our brand specialized in CBD and Melatonin products.

What is melatonin and how it works

Melatonin is a hormone that is naturally produced in the pineal gland, located in the brain. It plays a very important role in the regulation of circadian rhythms, including the sleep/wake cycle, generating a signal that tells the body that it is night and time to sleep. This is its best known property.

As we get older (from the age of 40), melatonin production gradually decreases, the signal becomes less intense and sleep disorders begin. Therefore, its external administration is a natural way to remedy this problem.

Benefits of melatonin

The sleep that one has when taking melatonin is absolutely physiological, that is to say, melatonin does not alter the structure of sleep, but it occurs just as it did when the person was younger and produced a greater amount of melatonin.

This aspect is very important because insomnia disorders are currently treated with psychotropic drugs in a high proportion of cases. The benzodiazepines that are prescribed to solve sleep problems, anxiety, etc. do cause changes in the structure and course of sleep, as we have already told you in the article in the link.

On the other hand, melatonin is an excellent natural antioxidant that protects the body from situations of oxidation and inflammation such as those that cause many diseases. Therefore, the intake of melatonin is beneficial to health at many levels, and many of its benefits are enhanced when associated with CBD.

Melatonin is also active topically, and here we find another of its best benefits: it protects the skin against radiation such as UVA rays from the sun or x-rays from therapeutic radiation (radiotherapy) in cancer patients, so it not only protects any of us from oxidative stress on cells (due to sun damage, among others), but also prevents radiodermatitis in cancer patients.

Truths and myths about melatonin

One of the most worrying things is that melatonin is often thought to cause nightmares. But melatonin does not cause nightmares or dreams; what happens is that, when sleeping more deeply, the REM phase (in which dreams occur) is more intense, which makes all dreams (good and bad) more vivid. The person who has pleasant dreams, will have them equally, but more intense; and the same will happen to those who have nightmares. Only in this specific circumstance, it may be advisable to abandon melatonin treatment.

There may also be a concern about the appearance of other side effects of melatonin. However, one of the most interesting properties of melatonin is precisely its lack of toxicity and side effects. In fact, it has no lethal dose, which allows its use in concentrations much higher than those authorized in Spain, without the appearance of adverse side effects to health.

Melatonin, a great unknown

If you are wondering why melatonin is not known beyond its sleep-inducing role, Dr. Jesús A. F. Tresguerres, who has been researching melatonin for more than 35 years, helps us to understand it better:

"As its price is low and it is not a patentable substance, it lacks interest for large pharmaceutical laboratories, and this explains why it is largely unknown even to physicians, despite its enormous potential for health and the absence of adverse side effects."

Dr. Tresguerres has published more than 50 scientific papers on the properties of melatonin in leading international journals and has been treating more than 400 patients with melatonin for more than 15 years, with no cases of dependence or significant side effects.

Skin care with melatonin

Creams with melatonin in a sufficient and adequate concentration manage to improve the quality, appearance and health of the skin:

• Protecting the skin against external damage (environmental factors, tobacco, ultraviolet or therapeutic radiation...).
• Recovering damaged tissues, regenerating cells.
• Stimulating the synthesis of collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid.
• Repairing damaged vessels and blood circulation.
• Increasing the supply of nutrients and oxygen.

Phexia is the first company in the market to combine in its formulas CBD and Melatonin in truly therapeutic concentrations. All our products are toxic free and have been tested and verified in third party laboratories (lab reports are available for download). Because we have our own medical advisory board, we are able to offer customers a personalized counseling service from the experts who formulate our creams by emailing wecare@phexia.com.