Among the scientifically proven effects of meditation are those that affect body chemistry, meditation stimulates hormones that are very important for our health, today we will see what the relationship between melatonin and meditation is.
In addition to improving and increasing energy and peace of mind, research shows that regular meditation increases melatonin levels.
- This hormone helps us to regulate the quality of sleep.
- Since the levels of melatonin in the blood increase during sleep and improve the quality of rest.
Melatonin is created by Tryptophan, an amino acid that is produced in the pineal gland. This gland has been known for hundreds of years as the “headquarters of the soul”, and in many Eastern traditions it is considered one of the points to which we must direct the flow of energy during meditation.
The relationship between melatonin and meditation was widely studied by a research team at the University of Massachusetts in the United States in 1995. This study collected very significant data on the subject.
The purpose of the study was to test the association between regular conscious meditation practice and increased physiological melatonin levels, for which urine samples were taken overnight for the detection of 6-sulfatexymethyltonine.
This element is a melatonin degradation product that provides accurate data on the level of melatonin in the blood. Previous studies have shown that melatonin is photosensitive, but this study has suggested that it is also psychosensitive.
The results of the study were overwhelming: people who meditated had significantly higher levels of melatonin than those who did not meditate.
Another similar study found that the practice of meditation before bedtime increased melatonin levels that night, although it did not do so on the following nights when meditation was not practiced, suggesting that meditation should be a regular practice to provide this benefit.
Assessing the physiological correlates of higher states of consciousness during sleep provided valuable information: people who regularly meditated spent more time in slow sleep, with greater theta-alpha power, and with background delta activity.
A significant improvement was also identified during the REM phase of sleep.
Meditation practices regulate the adrenal hypothalamus and therefore also regulate cortisol and catecholamine levels.
Meditation has been shown to increase dehydroepiandrosterone, pituitary hormones such as growth hormone, thyroid stimulating hormone, prolactin and, of course, melatonin.
Melatonin has a hypnotic effect on the individual through inhibition of the suprachiasmatic nucleus, in addition to acting as an antioxidant and immunomodulator, in addition to being an important antioxidant, creates a pleasant sense of well-being.
Meditation is a good alternative to increase concentration, not only for its impact on melatonin levels, but also for the influence on levels of its precursors, especially Serotonin and Norepinephrine.
In the end, it decreases liver metabolism and increases the synthesis of the pineal gland.
Melatonin secretion is greatly affected by people’s aging and, as a result, the quality of our sleep changes significantly as we age. Over the years, our friendly and parasympathetic activity has declined considerably.
This causes autonomous activation and therefore a decrease in the repair capacity of our sleep hours. On the contrary, the practice of meditation allows to modulate autonomous functions during sleep.
The activity of theta waves of the frontal midline, which originate in the anterior cingulate cortex, would control parasympathetic activity.
Of all the literature and studies mentioned above, it is possible to conclude that the regular practice of meditation, especially vipassana meditation, causes changes and brings global benefits, changes that have many similarities to the functions of repair and regulation of sleep.
If through meditation we can modify many of the mechanisms that generate sleep, there is no doubt that we are faced with an element that can greatly improve our health and restore physical and mental homeostasis.
In addition, it can also expand the possibilities of better understanding the mechanisms of sleep and human consciousness.