Popularly known as the “sleep hormone” because of its ability to help you get a good night’s sleep, melatonin does so much more than regulate your body’s clock. The health benefits of the hormone are many, ranging from keeping your diabetes in check to maintaining good cardiovascular health. It even has anti-cancer and anti-aging properties. Furthermore, it aids an array of metabolic functions like strengthening your immune system and boosting your anti-inflammatory defenses.
The production of this hormone reduces as you age and this decline is directly related to the speeding up of the aging process and overall health deterioration. Let’s take a more detailed look at the many health benefits of melatonin:
Antioxidant Properties
Melatonin was discovered about 50 years ago and since then various studies have been conducted to determine its benefits for the human body. The antioxidant property of this molecule is one of its studied attributes. Research shows that it plays a significant role in strengthening the body’s ability to fight against free radicals that damage your cells. Research shows that melatonin is more effective in dealing with oxidative stress and damage than vitamins C or E. Diseases resulting from free radicals, like Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), and Sepsis have responded positively to enhanced levels of melatonin.
Anticarcinogenic Properties
Research shows that Melatonin is also anticarcinogenic, meaning that it aids in preventing cancer. It also helps stop the growth and multiplication of cancer cells, and aids is promoting the natural cell death of cancerous cells.