How to Naturally Increase Your Melatonin Levels to Get a Better Night’s Sleep | Clicks IT Recruitment (2024)

Melatonin is a hormone that our body naturally produces. Itis present in our bodies all. But when it starts to get dark outside, ourmelatonin levels rise dramatically – sending messages to our body that it’stime to sleep. It distributes through our bloodstream and binds with receptorsin the brain to reduce nerve activity which helps us relax. Melatonin helps usfall asleep quickly and wake up less frequently so we can have a restful night’ssleep. But given it naturally reduces as we got older, what are some of thethings we can do to boost our melatonin levels?

Dim your lights atnight

In today’s day and age, it is not uncommon to be surroundedby bright lights right up until bedtime. Bright lights at night can confuse anddisrupt our internal body clock as melatonin increases with darkness anddecreases with light. A simple yet effective way to increase melatoninproduction, to help you sleep, is to dim your lights at least one hour beforebedtime.

Reduce screen time

The blue light emitted from devices has the biggest impact on melatonin productioncompared to other lights. These devices include: TV, smartphones, tablets,computer monitors, and LED and fluorescent lightbulbs. If you cannot reduceyour screen time, invest in blue light blocking glasses or switch your devicesto dark (or night) mode after sunset.

Cut back on coffee

Research has shown coffee disruptsmelatonin production. It’s recommended that you stop drinkingcoffee at least six hours before your bedtime. Melatonin production isdifferent for everyone. So, make note of your sleep to see if you need to makeany adjustments to your coffee consumption and cut off time. Cutting back oncoffee can be hard. Try these five alternatives to coffee that’ll giveyou a boost without interrupting your sleep.

Get some sun on yourface

Getting some sunshine each day helps regulates your internalclock and aids the production of melatonin. Sunlight makes serotonin which precursor of melatonin. It is reported that serotonin converts intomelatonin when it becomes dark. It’s recommended that you expose yourself tosunlight for 30 to 45 minutes within an hour of waking. Given the many benefits of taking a walk on thebright side, try to get out there and soak up those rays.

Eat the right foods

There is a range of foods that have high levelsof melatonin naturally. These include: cherries, goji berries, eggs, milk, fishand nuts – in particular almonds and pistachios. A goji berry smoothie with almond milkand salmon omelette are some tasty ways toincorporate these sleep-inducing foods into your diet.

Increase relaxationand reduce stress

We’ve all had the experience of tossing and turning and notbeing able to get to sleep. Whether we’ve had something on our mind or a bigevent the next day, stress is not helpful when it comes to sleep. That’sbecause our stress hormone (cortisol) also plays a role in our internal clock.Typically our body’s cortisol levels are high during the day and lower atnight. However, stress can throw this balance out and disturb melatoninproduction with chronic stress leading to insomnia.That’s why focusing on relaxation and trying to relieve stress before bedtime willhelp you sleep better.

As you can see, many things that impact your sleep. Depending on your current sleep patterns and how long you have experienced sleep disturbances, you may not notice an immediate change. But, there are many things you can do to support a better night’s sleep! We hope these simple suggestion will help improve your sleep. If you are considering taking melatonin supplements, always speak to a health professional prior.

As always, please let us know if there are any topics you would love us to look into or you have any queries or feedback. You can reach us atmarketing@clicks.com.au.