Melatonin and Meditation: How To Hack Your Sleep Without Supplements

Those nights when you are tossing and turning can feel like an eternity. You may pop a melatonin pill to help you fall asleep quickly and stay asleep longer. But what if there was a way to better your quality of sleep—without supplements? Meditation increases the natural melatonin in your body. Let’s dig in.

What is melatonin?

Melatonin is made by the amino acid tryptophan in the pineal gland. In other words, it’s a hormone produced by your brain to help upkeep your body’s natural rhythm, known as the circadian rhythm, or your body’s 24-hour internal clock.

The brain’s production and release of this hormone is related to the time of day, increasing when it’s dark and decreasing when it’s light. It is also available as a supplement, usually taken as an oral tablet, made in a lab. Oral tablets can be helpful for difficulty sleeping, jet lag, and more.

Effects of Supplements

Taking melatonin supplements is generally safe, though should always be used under doctor’s supervision and for only a short time. Mayo Clinic states, “[These supplements] can be used to treat delayed sleep phase and circadian rhythm sleep disorders in the blind and provide some insomnia relief.”

While taking supplements can be a helpful temporary solution, it can have negative effects:

• Headache
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Drowsiness
• In rare cases, can increase feelings of depression and anxiety, irritability, confusion, grogginess, or disorientation

Meditate for better sleep

Meditation is a good way to support your body’s natural ability to produce melatonin without the negative effects of a supplement.

A research team at the University of Massachusetts discovered people who meditated frequently had higher melatonin levels than those who didn’t. Studies also found people who meditated regularly had better REM sleep and spent more time in deep wave sleep, with stronger theta, alpha, and delta waves. Delta is deep, dreamless sleep—the unconscious mind.

Get better sleep with BrainTap

Meditation helps to enhance melatonin levels and quality of sleep. BrainTap’s guided meditation sessions help to promote relaxation, which contributes to maintaining healthy sleep. Frequent BrainTappers report feeling greater maintenance of healthy sleep patterns. Meditation facilitates physiological changes very similar to the natural-occurring functions of the body’s sleep cycle, boosting melatonin in a healthy, natural way.