Melatonin is a hormone secreted from your pineal gland that regulates your sleep and wake cycles. It's released during periods of dim light and darkness to prepare your body for sleep. Asthmatics often have difficulty sleeping at night and some use melatonin supplementation to improve sleep quality. There is some evidence that indicates that melatonin supplementation might benefit asthmatics.
Asthma
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder that causes inflammation of your airways, which makes breathing difficult. Asthma symptoms include coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. Although asthma is incurable, it can be treated with medications and inhalers. However, asthmatics can still have difficulty performing everyday activities and sleeping, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Melatonin Levels
Asthmatics whose asthma worsens at night may have higher levels of melatonin, which can disrupt lung function, according to a study done by researchers at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center. They analyzed melatonin levels and lung function in asthmatics and healthy subjects over a 7-day period. Scientists reported in the September 2003 issue of the "Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology" that those with nocturnal asthma had higher levels of melatonin and a greater drop in lung function during the night compared with healthy participants.
Inflammation
One of the ways melatonin decreases lung function in asthmatics is by increasing inflammation of the airways. Researchers at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center observed that melatonin increases pro-inflammatory cells, including interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha, in asthmatics, especially at night, according to the August 2002 issue of the "American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine."
Sleep Quality
Although melatonin boosts inflammation in asthmatics, researchers at Universidade Federal do Ceara in Brazil discovered that melatonin supplementation might benefit asthmatics. They assigned asthmatics 3 mg of melatonin or a placebo daily 2 hours before bedtime for 4 weeks. Scientists reported in the August 2004 issue of the "American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine" that those in the melatonin group had better quality of sleep and no significant differences in asthma symptoms compared with those who had a placebo.
References
- MayoClinic.com; Asthma; May 2010
- "Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology"; Elevated Serum Melatonin is Associated With the Nocturnal Worsening of Asthma; E.R. Sutherland et al.; September 2003
- "American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine"; Immunomodulatory Effects of Melatonin in Asthma; E.R. Sutherland et al.; October 2002
- "American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine"; Melatonin Improves Sleep in Asthma; F.L. Campos et al.; August 2004
