Scientists at the MIT Clinical Research Center have shown that tiny oral doses of melatonin can put people to sleep-findings that suggests that melatonin may offer an alternative to hypnotic drugs, such as Valium, frequently used to relieve insomnia.
Scientists say their results also suggest that melatonin plays a key role in inducing sleep.
As you age, the amount of melatonin that your body secretes each evening from the pineal gland decreases and the incidence of sleeping difficulties increases. These results will help scientists to pull back the curtains that have obscured understanding of sleep. They also boost future hope for a natural, non-addictive agent that could improve sleep for millions of Americans. I am hopeful that a safe, regulated supply of the hormone may be available in the future. Extensive studies of the hormone would be needed before this would be possible.