The holiday season, with its parties and treats, often leads to unwanted weight gain. While moderation, healthy eating, and hydration are key, emerging research suggests that sleep, and specifically the sleep hormone melatonin, may play a significant role in weight management.
The Potential Link Between Melatonin and Weight Loss
Melatonin, a hormone produced naturally by the body to regulate the sleep-wake cycle, might also encourage weight loss by increasing the presence of beige fat, a type of fat that helps burn energy. This may sound surprising but scientists have identified specific types of fat that burn energy rather than storing it, as regular fat cells do. Melatonin supplements have demonstrated a reduction in weight gain and fat accumulation in animals consuming diets high in fat and sugar.
Beige Fat: The Energy-Burning Fat
One of these types of fat is so-called “beige fat,” which is found near the collarbone and along the spine in adult humans. Stimulating the presence of energy-burning body fats has been identified as a prospective treatment for obesity, as well as type 2 diabetes.
Melatonin's Impact on Beige Fat: Animal Studies
A team of researchers from Spain and Texas has found that melatonin increases the presence of beige fat in rats given a 6-week regimen of orally delivered melatonin. Their experiment included both obese rats with type 2 diabetes and healthy-weight rats that were diabetes-free. Half of the rats (both obese and normal weight) were given melatonin in their drinking water every day for 6 weeks, while the remaining rats were given no supplemental melatonin. At the end of the 6-week period, rats that received the oral melatonin displayed the increased presence of beige fat-this included both obese and lean rats. Researchers found that the rats who received melatonin had increased their sensitivity to the thermogenic effects of both cold and exercise.
Melatonin and Thermogenesis
Thermogenic processes in the body-including exertion through exercise and activity, generating heat in reaction to cold temperatures, digestion of food, and sleeping -raise metabolic rate and cause the body to burn additional energy. According to these study results, melatonin may boost beige fat stores and trigger an increase in energy burn. These latest findings build on earlier research that demonstrated that supplemental melatonin slowed weight gain, lowered blood pressure, and improved glucose function in obese, type-2 diabetic rats. Other research also suggests melatonin may have a role to play in treating metabolic dysfunction and disease. Low melatonin levels have been linked to insulin resistance and associated with elevated risk for type 2 diabetes. Supplemental melatonin given to mice and other animals has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity, lower blood sugar and decrease blood pressure.
Read also: Weight Loss Guide Andalusia, AL
Melatonin's Broader Impact on Metabolism
Melatonin has various effects on the body that might contribute to weight loss. They include:improving insulin sensitivity, which helps regulate blood sugar levelshelping to convert glucose into glycogen in the liver cells, which helps prevent high blood sugarhelping the skeletal muscles to absorb glucose from the blood, which improves metabolismaffecting insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) signaling pathways, which control how the body grows and changes, possibly affecting weightregulating the circadian rhythm, which can help with weight maintenance reducing oxidative stress by reducing free radicals, which can play a role in inflammation and obesity
Melatonin and Hedonic Eating
Hedonic eating, reward-driven eating rather than out of biological needs, has been proposed as one of the important causes of overweight and obesity in recent years. Dopamine, endocannabinoids, opioids, and ghrelin are among the physiological factors associated with hedonic eating. Melatonin, a hormone secreted from the pineal gland, has several roles, including regulating sleep and circadian rhythm, promoting weight loss, and exhibiting antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Animal studies have shown positive effects of melatonin supplementation on reducing levels of endocannabinoids, ghrelin, and CB1 expression, suggesting it may also be effective in hedonic eating.
Research Protocol: Melatonin and Hedonic Eating in Overweight/Obese Women
In a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study, forty-six women with overweight/obesity and high hedonic eating intensity (total score of power of food scale > 2.5) will be recruited. They will receive either a 5 mg/day melatonin supplement (n = 23) or a placebo (n = 23) for 8 weeks. The primary outcomes, including the plasma levels of 2-arachidonylglycerol and ghrelin, and the intensity of hedonic eating will be assessed at the baseline and end of the study. Additionally, the secondary outcomes (dietary intake, and body weight) will be evaluated at the study’s onset, after four weeks, and upon completion of the intervention. The study protocol is registered in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT20080904001197N22) and adheres to the Declaration of Helsinki Guidelines.
Melatonin and Brown Fat Activation
Two international studies led by the University of Granada (UGR) have confirmed that melatonin helps prevent obesity. The experiment, carried out in obese and diabetic adult rats of both sexes, has found that chronic administration of the melatonin drug (10 mg/kg body weight/day and for 3 months) prevents obesity to a greater extent than acute treatment and reduces visceral obesity by around 3%. The combination of melatonin administration with bathing in slightly cold water, around 17°C (the average sea temperature) further enhances weight reduction, according to this research. According to the results indicated by the researchers, melatonin could help treat visceral obesity, which establishes the need to develop new clinical trials to prove its effectiveness in humans. The above results also point out that this substance curbs obesity and improves metabolic function through the activation of brown fat and the browning of subcutaneous body fat.
Melatonin's Effect on Lipid Profile
Ahmad et.al first reported a positive effect of melatonin on overweight and lipid profile of rats with obesity and diabetes. Long-term melatonin administration can reduce weight gain and the serum total cholesterol (TC) levels, and inhibit the absorption and biosynthesis of cholesterol as well as increasing its catabolism. The similar results in male C57BL/6 mice, Wistar rats, and Syrian hamsters fed a high-fat diet (HFD) had shown that melatonin significantly reduced the levels of serum triglyceride (TG), TC, and low-density lipoprotein- cholesterol (LDL-C). Besides, epidemiological evidence and Meta-analyses also support the improved effects of melatonin on serum lipid profile, and suggest the preventive role in cardiovascular disease, but not in menopausal women. The hypocholesterolemic effect of melatonin works through the augmentation of endogenous cholesterol clearance mechanisms, via the synthesis of bilirubin acid and inhibition of low-density lipoprotein receptor activity. Through increasing circulating irisin levels and enhancing fecal cholesterol excretion, melatonin exerts the hypolipidemic effect.
Read also: Beef jerky: A high-protein option for shedding pounds?
Melatonin and Insulin Sensitivity
Melatonin has been confirmed to improve insulin sensitivity, induce β-cell regeneration in the pancreas, promote hepatic glycogen synthesis, thus reducing hyperglycemia in rodents. Melatonin is essential for insulin-stimulated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-protein kinase B (AKT) activity. Melatonin activates the IRS1-PI3K-PKCζ pathway to promote glucose uptake in mouse skeletal muscle. It also activates the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-response element-binding protein (CREB)-peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-α (PGC-1α) pathway to prevent insulin resistance in rats.
Melatonin and Insulin Resistance
Patients with obesity taking melatonin for 12 weeks show a pronounced decrease in the IR index. In the case of existing IR, melatonin treatment improves glucose metabolism in the IR model by restoring the effect of insulin on the cardiovascular system. Higher levels of endogenous nocturnal melatonin secretion are negatively related to the insulin level and onset of IR.
Melatonin and Adipose Tissue
Melatonin can regulate adipose tissue and adipokines, such as lipolysis of adipocyte, fat deposition, BAT growth, beige adipogenesis, and WAT browning, which in turn affects energy expenditure. Melatonin could significantly induce lipolysis of adipocytes and up-regulate the expression of lipolytic genes and proteins via MT2, including hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), adipocyte triglyceride lipase (ATGL), and perilipin 1 (PLIN1).
Melatonin and White Adipose Tissue (WAT)
Melatonin has remarkable effects on WAT, including stimulating WAT browning and beige adipocyte formation, improving mitochondrial function, and relieving OS. It was reported that long-term melatonin treatment drove WAT into a brown-fat-like function and induced beige formation in ZDF rats, along with upregulation of UCP1 expression, which contributed to thermogenesis and weight control. In addition, melatonin is capable of improving mitochondrial respiration in WAT and beige adipocytes as well as reducing OS.
Melatonin and Skeletal Muscle
In addition to brown fat, skeletal muscle is another major energy-consuming organ, regulating fatty acid use in rodents. Melatonin suppressed HFD-induced accumulation of TG in skeletal muscle. These reductions in muscle fat accumulation by melatonin were associated with upregulated expression of genes related to β-oxidation of fatty acids (Pparα, Acox1, Cpt1α, and Lcad).
Read also: Inspiring Health Transformation
Should You Take Melatonin Supplements for Weight Loss?
While these results are promising and in line with earlier discoveries, we still don’t know enough yet about how melatonin functions in relation to fat production and metabolic function, and how supplemental melatonin might best be used safely and effectively as a weight-loss treatment, or a therapy for metabolic disease. The body’s natural production and calibration of melatonin are complicated and incredibly precise. Melatonin supplements, even taken in recommended dosages, can elevate levels of the hormone to several times greater than normal. This can result in disruption to circadian rhythms and to a healthy sleep cycle-an outcome that isn’t good for overall health or for weight control.
Potential Downsides of Melatonin Supplementation
In terms of weight gain, several factors may cause people to link melatonin and weight gain, including:Taking more than the recommended dose of melatonin may cause people to be more sedentary and use less energy than usual, contributing to weight gain.Taking melatonin at the wrong time may also cause people to feel sluggish and move less than usual.If people take melatonin to help them sleep, it may mean they have disrupted sleep patterns, which have been linked to weight gain. If they take a melatonin supplement and also gain weight, they may link the two. Melatonin fluctuations can cause sleep disturbances, which may affect the appetite-regulating hormones leptin and ghrelin. This can cause people to feel hungrier or less full than they should.
Natural Ways to Boost Melatonin Production
The good news is there are ways to stimulate the body’s own natural production of melatonin without drugs or supplements.
Minimize Nighttime Light Exposure
Melatonin levels rise in the body after dark and fall back during daylight hours. Artificial light in the evening hours can delay melatonin release and disrupt sleep-wake cycles. Keep electronics-including computers and television-out of the bedroom. Make sure your bedroom is dark and protected from outside lights. Give yourself an hour or so before bed away from brightly lit digital screens, to allow your body to respond to the evening’s darkness.
Maximize Light Exposure Early in the Day
Taking in light during the daylight hours-especially sunlight-can strengthen circadian rhythms and help to avoid melatonin deficiency. Take some time to walk outside in the morning, or make sure you’re working in proximity to a window in order to provide your body with some exposure to sunlight.
Exercise Regularly
Physical activity is another way to strengthen healthy circadian function and improve sleep. It’s also a critical aspect of long-term weight control. Schedule your exercise no closer than 3 hours before bedtime, so that the exertion doesn’t interfere with sleep. If you can exercise outdoors in the daylight, even better.
Consume Melatonin-Rich Foods
There are also a number of foods that contain melatonin, which fit well into a healthy diet. Almonds and walnuts, sunflower seeds, tart cherries, tomatoes, and fennel, as well as the spices cardamom and coriander are good sources of melatonin.