There is a range of foods that have high levels of melatonin naturally. These include: cherries, goji berries, eggs, milk, fish and nuts – in particular almonds and pistachios. A goji berry smoothie with almond milk and salmon omelette are some tasty ways to incorporate these sleep-inducing foods into your diet.
Eggs and fish are higher melatonin-containing food groups in animal foods, whereas in plant foods, nuts are with the highest content of melatonin. Some kinds of mushrooms, cereals and germinated legumes or seeds are also good dietary sources of melatonin.
The synthesis and release of melatonin are stimulated by darkness, melatonin is the "chemical expression of darkness" and inhibited by light [4]. Photic information from the retina is transmitted to the pineal gland through the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus (SCN) and the sympathetic nervous system [5].
Melatonin secretion decreases during aging. Reduced melatonin levels are also observed in various diseases, such as types of dementia, some mood disorders, severe pain, cancer, and diabetes type 2. Melatonin dysfunction is frequently related to deviations in amplitudes, phasing, and coupling of circadian rhythms.
Cherries
Cherries (especially sour cherries like the Montmorency variety) are one of the only (and highest) natural food sources of melatonin.
Bananas are an amazingly healthy fruit. Bananas contain melatonin, tryptophan, vitamin B6, and magnesium, which are all great for producing serotonin and helping you sleep. Bananas are another “good” carb that can not only help you sleep, but feel more alert during the day.
“Your body produces melatonin naturally. It doesn't make you sleep, but as melatonin levels rise in the evening it puts you into a state of quiet wakefulness that helps promote sleep,” explains Johns Hopkins sleep expert Luis F. Buenaver, Ph.D., C.B.S.M.
Caffeine blocks melatonin signaling/transmission [20].
Melatonin levels can be tested with a blood test, urine test or saliva test. Saliva Sample: The Melatonin Test requires a saliva sample test requires an evening saliva sample which collected in a vial and sent to pathology Laboratory for testing.
When a caffeine molecule keeps adenosine from binding, it promotes wakefulness. New research has shown that coffee consumption can suppress the production of melatonin produced by the pineal gland. The volume of the pineal gland positively correlates with melatonin levels.
Although a cup of coffee is estimated to contain even as much as 40 µg of melatonin, corresponding the nocturnal endogenous production, the general effect in the circulating melatonin concentration may differ, since coffee contains caffeine which may reduce endogenous nocturnal melatonin levels.
Other supplements including magnesium, valerian root, tart cherry, L-theanine, lavender essential oil, and GABA are worth considering as alternatives to melatonin.
Honey helps your brain release melatonin, the hormone that your body uses to restore itself during sleep. This happens through a series of transformations in your brain: honey's sugars spike your insulin levels, releasing tryptophan, which becomes serotonin, which becomes melatonin.
Cherries. Cherries and cherry juice contain high levels of melatonin, a hormone in the brain that controls your sleep regulation. One study even shows that drinking tart cherry juice could improve sleep in people who suffer from insomnia.
Chocolate also contains tryptophan, which stimulates serotonin and melatonin. And serotonin and melatonin are believed to help sleep.
Blueberries Improve Memory, Sleep Quality, and Mood
They're also an excellent source of melatonin—the hormone that helps you sleep.
A combination of both methods — timed application of bright light in the morning and a dose of melatonin in the evening — seems to be the most effective therapy for treating melatonin rhythm disturbances. Melatonin has not only been shown to advance sleep time, but to increase sleep duration as well.
The production and release of melatonin in the brain is connected to time of day, increasing when it's dark and decreasing when it's light. Melatonin production declines with age. Melatonin is also available as a supplement, typically as an oral tablet or capsule.
But, although the hormone's plasma levels at nighttime remain at least an order of magnitude higher than at daytime throughout the life span, its absolute concentrations undergo a continuing decline after peaking at ages 2–5 yr (2–4).