Popular hormone could do more than merely give you a good night’s rest

[Guest guest]

New research

indicates that a

popular hormone available in your local health store could do more than

merely

give you a good night’s rest.

 

By Whole

Body Health Staff

http://www.americanfreepress.net/Alternative_Health/17_02%20HS%20%20Naturally-Occuring%20Ho.htm

              

 

There is evidence that melatonin use may

play a

role in modulating pituitary secretion and production of growth

hormones,

according to the European Journal of Endocrinology.

Melatonin is a naturally-occurring

hormone

produced especially at night in the pineal gland. It is widely known

for the

part it plays in the circadian rhythm, the hormonal cycle regulating

people’s

sleep cycles, and is stimulated by the dark and inhibited by light.

Melatonin production decreases as people

age,

accounting for the sleepless nights with which many older Americans

battle.

Growth hormone (GH) is secreted by the

pituitary

gland, which is located on the lower part of the brain under the

hypothalamus.

The hypothalamus is the section of the

brain

involved in the functions of the nervous system and in the endocrine

system. It

also seems to function in the part of the brain that affects people’s

moods and

motivational states.

According to the Journal, the

study looked

at the effects of a single dose of oral melatonin taken at 5 mg on

exercise-induced growth hormone secretion.

Seven healthy males undertook an initial

period of

graded bicycle exercise to determine maximum workload and oxygen

uptake.

Researchers also studied, on two other

occasions,

men receiving either melatonin or placebo at the onset of each study.

Researchers found that GH concentration

increased

after taking melatonin and was greater than those taking the placebo.

Stimulating growth hormone secretion can

have the

effect of improving mental alertness, vitality and strength. ™