Article on Melatonin & Jet Lag
 

I'm going to paraphrase an article my mother-in-law gave me on Melatonin for our trip to London in July:<BR><BR>(from the Nutrition Action Healthletter)<BR><BR>Melatonin is the hormone secreted by the pineal gland, that helps our internal body clock know when it's dark and time to sleep, or light and time to be awake.<BR><BR>I nine of the ten best studies, taking between 0.5 and 5.0 mg of Melatonin between 10 pm and midnight at the destination was "remarkably effective in preventing or reducing jet lag from flights crossing five or more time zones.<BR><BR>Here's a simplified version of the recommendation for a New York to London round trip:<BR>-The day before you leave, take 0.5 mg of Melatonin ion the afternoon (it could make you drowsy). For a few days after you arrive in London, get some morning sun and take 1 to 3mg of Melatonin before bedtime.<BR>-The day before your return flight, take 0.5 mg as soon as you get up in the morning. After you arrive in New York, get some late afternoon sun and take 1 to 3mg of Melatonin before bedtime the first night.<BR><BR>The right combination of Melatonin and light will help you minimize the efects of jet lag, but you can't beat it entirely. <BR><BR>Hope this helps!<BR><BR>

Those women who are post or peri-menopausal should be aware that melatonin depresses estrogen function and can lead to side effects such as blue mood. I do not know whether this can happen with short term usage like described above. Any nutrionists want to add some expert advice on this?

I am not an herbal taker but was willing to try Melatonin on my trip to China. There is a 12 hour difference so I knew my body would be confused!<BR><BR>I felt like it worked for me. I take estrogen but didn't have any side effects from the Melatonin.

I just returned from London on Monday. While there I stopped in a health food store (Holland & Burnett?)& asked about melatonin. A Dr friend said there was a herbal type. The girl there said that melatonin was banned in Europe due to side effects.She said their alternative was called 5-HTP. I read the info they had on it & it seemed to do the same. It was 14.99 pounds for 60 capsules.I didn't buy any while there but am going to check on it here. I have also heard that GNC stores carry something like it. I did see a GNC store in London but it wasn't convenient to stop there at the time.

I was surprised that the time difference really did affect the three of us! I think I thought we could just "will" our way through it and it would not be a problem! Well, after all day walking and then a play at night...we still had a hard time getting to sleep! Abouot 6:00 AM was when it seemed I could get into a deeep sleep. We still had a great trip but I just had underestimated the effect of such a large time difference (8 hours). We have been home now for 4 days and I am still not totally back on CA time!!!)

Before anyone decides to take Melatonin, I hope that you will check with your physician or pharmacist to make sure that this is the right way to go. You shouldn't mix pharmaceuticals together without someone knowledgeable saying that is okay. The last thing that you would want is an adverse reaction.