The act of lying down in bed and actually falling asleep can be two distinct experiences. If you find yourself frequently lying awake in bed at night, your sleep-wake cycle is likely out of balance.
Several factors could contribute to this, but one major culprit is your body's misalignment of melatonin and cortisol production. Let's explore the biggest sleep hormone a bit more.
A Quick Look at Melatonin
Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland, a small pea-sized gland in the brain. Its most significant role is regulating your circadian rhythm (the sleep-wake cycle).
Melatonin levels in the body typically rise in the evening and remain elevated throughout the night, promoting sleep, and decrease in the morning, allowing wakefulness.
What Happens In The Body
Melatonin interacts with the receptors in the brain that are responsible for the body's biological clock (for those that like big words, it interacts with the suprachiasmatic nucleus). However, melatonin receptors aren't just found in the brain; they are also found in the retina, blood vessels, and digestive tract.
When melatonin binds to its receptors in the SCN, it suppresses the release of certain neurotransmitters that promote wakefulness, such as norepinephrine. This inhibition promotes drowsiness and initiates the onset of sleep.
Melatonin also helps synchronize other bodily processes, including body temperature, hormone secretion, and blood pressure, so they align with the sleep-wake cycle.
How Does The Body Know When To Produce Melatonin
Environmental cues, particularly light exposure, mostly influence melatonin.
Bright light, especially blue light from electronic devices, can suppress melatonin production, making it more difficult to fall asleep. Conversely, dim light or darkness stimulates melatonin production, signaling the body to prepare for sleep.
Bonus Tip: Try to get natural sunlight in your eyes immediately after waking. This will strengthen the consistency of your circadian rhythm, making falling asleep and waking up much easier.
How This Affects You
Although a tiny piece of the brain produces melatonin, it's incredibly powerful. Here are a couple of quick tips to keep melatonin production functioning smoothly:
- Create a dark setting before bed; blackout curtains do the job well
- Attempt to go to bed at a similar time each night
- Try to stay off your screens for about an hour before bed
Doing the above strategies should help strengthen melatonin production and get you to sleep faster. Stay tuned for an in-depth post on exactly how you can optimize melatonin production.