THE MELATONIN CONNECTION

Every night when we go to sleep our melatonin levels rise and melatonin curses through our blood and cleans up the toxicity in our cells. It scavenges and removes out highly damaging free radicals. If the free radicals persist for very long, they damage DNA, cause cell death, produce reproductive disorders in the chromosomes and are shown to be carcinogenic.

Melatonin is one of those agents that repairs our body systems every night to reduce the possibility that our bodies will experience un-wellness.

Tryptophan is one of the twenty standard amino acids and is considered an essential amino acid. Tryptophan functions in the biochemical reaction that produces serotonin which is a neurotransmitter essential to the relay, amplification and modulation signals between a neuron and another cell in the nervous system. In the chemical processes in the body, serotonin, in turn, is converted to the neuro-hormone called melatonin.

Melatonin is a hormone found in all living creatures from algae to humans, at levels that vary in a daily cycle. It plays a role in the regulation of the circadian rhythms or cycles of basic biological functions. Production of melatonin by the pineal gland is inhibited by light and permitted by darkness.

Melatonin has a wide range of uses in the body, with its role as a pervasive and extremely powerful antioxidant being probably the most important.

Melatonin as a powerful antioxidant can easily cross cell membranes and the blood-brain barrier acting as a central hub for the complex interactions among body, mind and the environment. Melatonin, once oxidized, cannot be reduced to its former state because it forms several stable end-products upon reacting with free radicals. Therefore, it has been “referred to as a terminal (or suicidal) antioxidant.” Low levels of melatonin in the body have been implicated in a wide range of diseases.

Electromagnetic radiation has been shown to reduce the melatonin cleaning-up effect on cells. Experiments have been conducted that show a very low level magnetic field magnitude being harmful – levels well below the government standards worldwide - and causing a significant reduction in the cleansing effect of melatonin. Free radicals proliferate when levels of melatonin are reduced.

From a quick review of research, we find it is not yet determined definitively that melatonin levels are affected by static, continuous or intermittent magnetic fields, nor by fields of any description, which are tied to the magnetic fields by nature. There is research on both sides of the fence.

At this point, melatonin is probably a better “treatment” tool than an “assessment” tool, although it can be used effectively for testing endocrine dysfunction. It is interesting to note that it can have a positive and negative effect on the endocrine system depending on the level. For example, it can put you to sleep, and it can keep you awake. High levels cause a type of depression called Seasonal Affective Disorder, while low levels cause “ordinary” depression. Low levels are also associated with coritsol. The same diseases mentioned as resulting from imbalances of melatonin and cortisol are associated with EHS.

It is not certain that a determination has been made that EHS is the outcome of damaged pineal and dysfunctional tryptophan resulting in melatonin release. Melatonin as an assessment tool perhaps belongs with the question “Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?” It appears that melatonin is affected by light and dark, day length, and artificial light              and            electromagnetic radiation. Is this the same soup pot?  Secretion is closely tied to age, diminishing at the end of one’s lifetime. Is it electromagnetic radiation or age that results in weakening of the immune function?

It seems that it would be very important to have more definitive information and more accurate diagnosis before trying to assess and “cure” for EHS. So many of the symptoms of EHS are common to so many diseases mentioned in the same breath. We know it is difficult to weed out misinformation and piece together countless facts in order to put together an accurate picture.  Even the fact that melatonin tests seem to be illegal in the state of New York (and not elsewhere) puts a skew on the efficacy of the resulting information.