A: How does the melatonin hormone work and what are its physiological effects in our body?

We're not asleep because we're tired. Actually, we're not eating it because we're hungry. Or sexual drives or aggression and fight! We do not live the result because of a reason. Actually, yes, there is a reason. It's hormones. It is carried out by the endocrine system to manage, control and metabolize the life of all living things. What constitutes the endocrine system in animals are the glands. suprarenal gland, thyroid gland etc. All these glands have an important work to do; it is the stimulation and secretion of hormones. Hormones manage all life and metabolism. We have special kinds of hormones that are responsible for managing almost everything we do and live. Most of the time, a kind of hormone is responsible for our multiple events. The subject of this writing is Melatonin, one of the most important biochemicals.

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Melatonin is called 'N-acetyl-5-methoxy tryptamine' in chemistry. It is synthesized in Pineal gland, which is one of the glands in the body. There are Circadian cycles in animals. Melatonin is released according to the circadian cycle. Circadian rhythm, in summary, is the time of your body. It regulates your body's chemical and hormonal production and metabolism over a 24-hour cycle. This allows you to sleep during sleep time and wake up when you need to wake up. One of the most important tasks of this hormone is to monitor the state of sleep and awake. Plants also include melatonin. There is a terrible situation called 'oxidative stress' in plants. Preventing oxidative stress is the work of the melatonin hormone. Melatonin is an important and valuable hormone, just like vitamins C and E. For us, the only way to stimulate this hormone is to enter the state of sleep or directly fall asleep in the dark. Even in the smallest dim light, melatonin stimulation begins to stop. There is also an interesting fact: If you are under the soft light during the night, withdrawal of melatonin becomes very difficult, so you cannot easily get out of sleepiness when you are exposed to daylight. It has been proved by the experiments that people who are in a bright light environment during the day have an incredibly comfortable and beautiful sleep at night. Sometimes, the body can have a lot of difficulty in secreting the hormone melatonin. In such cases, the hormone melatonin may be supplied from the nutrients taken from the outside, or as medicines. One of the most beautiful sources of melatonin is cherry. There is plenty of melatonin in some alcohol types also.

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We know very well that; billions of dollars are spent on the treatment of cancer and thousands of scientists have been working very hard for in hundreds of research centers for decades. All scientific studies have shown that the naturally secreted melatonin hormone either clears or destroys cancer cells that appear as DNA-damaged cells. So no matter what cancer, Melatonin is the natural drug of cancer. But beware! must be naturally secreted. The only way to do this is to sleep properly in accordance with the normal sleep cycle. Nice and clean air, well-ventilated room, nice bed, sleeping in the room is necessary. But more importantly, there should not be even a little light of electronic devices in the sleeping environment. So if you have a TV in your bedroom then it is a big mistake. Hanging on Facebook, and then putting your cell phone right beside you and trying to sleep causes serious reductions and disorders on the secretion of melatonin. Even the reading lamp can make melatonin secretion difficult. One study reported that even the presence of sockets in the bedroom had a bad effect on melatonin secretion. The presence of electricity is a problem for melatonin. I don't know! Perhaps, you may try something like switching off the main breaker on the panel go to your bed!

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Unfortunately, one of the worst aspects of such a valuable hormone is the decrease in stimulation/secretion due to aging. In other words, the melatonin level is lower in the elders than in the younger ones. This contributes to the increase in the ratio of oxidative degradation. Let's look at how the cancer is happening. And then what does melatonin do to prevent cancer? Cancer is an uncontrolled cell tissue in the metabolic activity of the organism. What gives the order of a normal cell division is the cell nucleus in the center of the cell. The codes in the genetic material in the cell nucleus, orders "split now!" when the time comes and the cell becomes divided. But the genetic material in the cancer cell nucleus has changed. So the code that gives the order is corrupted (mutation). Therefore, it begins to divide in a way that almost never stops. So what causes this mutation? I'm leaving aside the radiation issue. I'm also putting aside the genetic heritage. Apart from that, the most important factor is the chemical substances that we eat and drink. These substances diffuse into the cell. These chemicals contain free radicals which are very open to oxidation. Electron affinities are very high. They receive (and give) electrons from almost every kind of atoms in the cell. So they ruin inside of the cell. They literally disrupt the internal structure of the cell. You can think of this situation as a shiny, clean beautiful metal is rusting very quickly. This phenomenon is called oxidative stress. But when these ions and molecules called 'free radicals' come to the nucleus of the cell, something different and worse happens. Because, after this point, the structure of the genetic material in the cell nucleus begins to deteriorate. So, the code that orders cell division is broken. The melatonin molecule suppresses these free radicals. They give or receive the electrons they want to receive or give. Thus, they suppress their effects by bonding them. It does not allow them to reach the cell and cell nucleus.

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Melatonin is a more valuable substance for children. Children's structure is like a machine programmed to grow very fast. They grow so fast that the human life cycle does not experience such a rapid metabolic process at any time. Correct and good growth is one of the most important indicators of how healthy a person's life can be. This is one of the reasons why babies tend to sleep continuously. Their body tries to make itself healthy by sleeping. It tries to grow in this way. That's exactly where melatonin comes in. But the most important point here is that melatonin is not only a sleep hormone for children but also a growth hormone. For this reason, babies need to sleep better and healthier than a normal adult until adulthood. When the morning alarm bell rings, you have a lot of trouble getting out of bed. There is a slight numbness on you as if you had narcosis. The thing that causes this situation is what melatonin in your blood makes you feel. When you sleep at night, you may see dreams as if they were real. The brain believes in the reality of these dreams. Naturally, your body also wants to react to the events caused by these dreams and the events that it gives you. So if you're running in a dream, you're really trying to get up and run. Or if you're kicking someone in your dream, you're ready to kick your partner in bed. Or if you're flying in a dream, your body can get out of bed and jump off the balcony. But at night while dreaming, in sleep, the body is half-paralyzed. This is a security measure that the brain and body use to prevent the unpleasant consequences of these situations. The hormone that provides this phenomenon of paralysis is melatonin.

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Visually impaired people have very low rates of cancer. The blinds have almost no cancer. Maybe you didn't take the statistic of such a thing in your own mind, but that's true. According to researches, some very serious connections were found between cancer and light. In other words, those who are exposed to light (especially sunlight) have a high risk for cancer. Besides, Melatonin has a direct effect on bone. While suppression of melatonin secretion reduces serum calcium concentration, The application of melatonin increases this concentration. Melatonin is abundant in bone marrow. It is suggested that the effects are mediated by autocoid effects. Melatonin also enhances bone matrix proteins and the synthesis of osteoprotegerin which is an osteoblastic protein. Today, the role of free radicals in various pathologies such as cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases and their role in aging has led to the use of antioxidants. Studies on this subject have gained momentum. When compared to many other antioxidants, melatonin has a strong radical scavenging effect and antioxidant enzyme activity. However, studies are still underway to introduce melatonin into clinical use.

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References

• _{What is the pineal gland?}
• _{Circadian Rhythm and Your Body Clock}
• _Cancer
• _{Oxidative Stress and Antioxidant Defense}
• _{10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Sleep Hormone: Melatonin}
• _{MELATONIN AND SLEEP}
• _{Melatonin: An Anti-Tumor Agent in Hormone-Dependent Cancers}
• _{What Is Melatonin?}

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