Taking melatonin and zinc for sleep can save many people throughout the world from having to take dangerous sleep medications each night.
Insomnia and sleep-related issues plague our country due to chronic stress, anxiety, busy schedules, too much workload, and many other issues. According to various sources, over 1/3rd of older Americans are taking sleep medication- and more are doing so each day.
The overwhelming sleep issues throughout the United States (and the world) are causing numerous health problems for many, making it a truly concerning situation.
If you are having any sleep-related issues, using melatonin and zinc to improve your sleeping pattern is one of the best decisions you can make!
Want to learn more about how these two sleep-aids will improve your quality of life? Keep reading below!
Zinc and Sleep
Zinc, for those of you who don’t know, is a trace element that is vital to our immune system. Not only that, it is essential for a variety of cellular processes of the human body.
Although zinc is a necessary element that we should get enough of through our diet, many people suffer from zinc deficiency. One of the main causes of this is poor food choices and consuming food that does not have a full nutritional spectrum.
Fortunately, it is very easy to supplement with zinc before you head to sleep each night! I started using zinc as a consistent supplement before sleep a few years ago, and I have noticed many differences in my body.
I was originally supplementing with zinc because I believed it would help with symptoms of overtraining while I was playing basketball in college (which it certainly helped with), and I was happily surprised at the results.
Now, taking zinc before I head to sleep each night is part of my unbreaking routine.
When I use zinc as a nighttime sleep aid, the main difference I notice is that I fall into a dramatically deeper sleep and do not wake up as frequently. On the rare occasions, I forget my zinc supplement, or it is not available, I always struggle to sleep through the night.
Whether your goal is to develop an aesthetic body, improve your physical performance for sports or another competition, or simply trying to become healthier and sleep better each night; zinc will help you with your goals!
Zinc for Your Immune System
Zinc is also powerful for boosting your immune system, so taking zinc for sleep each night will be beneficial for your body in multiple ways!
According to a study published by the American Society for Nutritional Sciences,
“The results of more than three decades of work indicate that zinc deficiency rapidly diminishes antibody- and cell-mediated responses in both humans and animals.”
If you consistently take between before you sleep each night, you can be comfortable in knowing that your immune system will continue to work to its full potential!
What is the Best Zinc Supplement to Take Before Bed?
According to a study conducted in The Journal of Nutrition on the human deficiency of zinc, zinc supplements are not a long-term solution. Whether you are normally using zinc as a supplement alone, or as a part of a multivitamin supplement, it is only a Band-Aid on top of a greater problem.
However, supplementation of this element is certainly useful for the time being.
I use my zinc supplement every night, and it works well for me for the time being. I believe we would all love to have perfectly nutritious diets, but that isn’t feasible for many.
Zinc can be helpful when taken in dosages between 10mg and 50mg per night. Personally, I choose to take 30mg of zinc every night.
If you are interested in purchasing a zinc supplement for yourself, I suggest you check out the Garden of Life Raw Zinc from Amazon.
There are many other supplement forms of this element as well, but I believe this is an excellent one you can trust.!
Using melatonin and zinc for sleep is an excellent way to improve your general sleeping pattern, and ability to recover after exercise.
Using Zinc with Melatonin Before Sleep
Many people do not know this, but melatonin has certain properties that make it able to normalize the vital levels of zinc in people who a natural zinc deficiency issue.
Not only that, combining zinc with melatonin has been clinically studied as an effective treatment for insomnia!
A study published in the Journal of American Geriatrics Society investigated the benefits of the combination of zinc, melatonin, and magnesium in the treatment of insomnia in older adults, and concluded that the combination of zinc, melatonin, and magnesium is highly recommended to help improve the quality of sleep of insomnia patients.
Along with this, the results of the study revealed that this combination of natural supplements provided numerous intrinsic benefits as well.
The combination of these three supplements increased the total sleep time of the participants, which was the primary concern of the study. Not only were patients able to fall asleep after using zinc and melatonin, but they also stayed asleep as well.
Along with this, the patients reported a reduction in the “hangover” upon waking up. I personally notice this effect when I take a zinc supplement for sleep also! If I do not use a zinc supplement before bed, I always feel I wake up groggy and without energy.
Furthermore, the study reported that the overall quality of sleep for each participant was improved.
One final interesting conclusion from the study is that combining these supplements also improved the alertness and behavior of the participants in the morning, after a night of restful sleeping. I am sure many people understand the benefit of a true night of sleep, but this research studied proves it!
What is Melatonin and How Does it Impact Sleep Quality?
We talked shortly about it earlier, but melatonin is another excellent supplement for sleep. As I will explain below, I don’t use melatonin as often as I use zinc- however, it is still an important part of my daily sleep routine.
Melatonin is a neurohormone which is secreted in the brain by the Pinal gland; it helps with promoting and regulating sleep. Although melatonin is naturally produced within our bodies, our base melatonin levels are often screwed up due to our lifestyles.
Whether you are staying up late and partying, on your cell phone too much, or simply sleeping with windows open for light to shine in your bedroom; it is likely a melatonin supplement could benefit you.
When you ingest melatonin orally, it can aid your sleep without being addictive. I generally try to take melatonin only every other night anyway, because you can become a bit too reliant on it.
The primary aim of using melatonin as a supplement is to help in normalizing abnormal sleep patterns, while also helping stabilize your bodies internal biorhythm.
Using both of zinc and melatonin will regulate the sleep portion of the circadian rhythm, although the intake of melatonin in the daytime may lead to drowsiness.
Health Benefits of Melatonin Before Sleep
There are several health benefits that you can obtain from using melatonin before you head to sleep each night, which is why it is one of the few supplements that I consistently use all year-round.
The primary job of melatonin is to help reduce the time it takes to fall asleep, which it does very well for me. Not only does it help you fall asleep faster, but it also helps you stay asleep better. I have always been a person who wakes up once or twice in the middle of the night, but taking melatonin has been a big help for that issue.
Even if I do not feel like I will have an issue falling asleep, I normally take 1mg to 3mg of melatonin at night to maintain a healthy sleep cycle.
Along with the general sleep benefits of melatonin, it has other health benefits as well.
Additional Health Benefits of Melatonin
- Since melatonin is a powerful antioxidant, it has general neuroprotective effects on the body.
- Melatonin also has several anti-cancer properties, and currently, it is being studied for the possibility of helping to fight breast cancer.
- For those people who are experiencing jet lag, or people involved in night-shift work, melatonin is useful in helping your body to fall asleep and normalize your bio-rhythm.
- Melatonin supplementation has the potential to stop your body from gaining fat, which is useful for those that are trying to prevent weight gain.
- Melatonin helps with the health of your eyes, it improves your mood and possibly reduces tinnitus.
- Supplementation of melatonin has also been used in the treatment and prevention of several health conditions such as sleep problems that are related to autism, depression, and anxiety.
- High dosages of melatonin have also shown promise in the treatment of AIDS, while low doses have shown to increase the length of the lives of lab animals by as much as 30%!
- Another amazing benefit of using melatonin before sleep is that the levels of ovarian production of estrogen, and progesterone, is reduced by having high levels of melatonin in the body. This response is thought to be protective against breast cancer.
There are several studies currently going on to ascertain more ways in which melatonin can treat various sicknesses.
Best Melatonin Supplement Before Bed
When you start to use a melatonin supplement for the first time, it is advised to start with a lower dosage such as 1mg to 3mg per night. When you are no longer able to sleep with these small doses, take a break from your melatonin supplement for a week or more and then begin again.
This method is better than increasing the dose when a smaller dose seems to stop working effectively, to avoid a build-up of heavy doses before sleeping. If you consistently add more melatonin each day, your body will not respond well.
Although I supplement with melatonin pretty much all year round, I normally prefer to take 3mg, every other night.
There are many adequate melatonin supplements on the market, but in my opinion the best melatonin supplement is:
Nature Made Melatonin on Amazon
Concluding Thoughts – Benefits of Using Zinc Before Bed
For such inexpensive supplements, these two products can have a massive impact on your ability to get a restful sleep every night.
Melatonin and zinc can improve your sleep as much as buying an expensive memory foam pillow!
After reading all of those benefits listed above, do you have any excuse for not going to buy melatonin and zinc today?
I don’t think so!
My recommended dose of zinc per night is 30mg, while I recommend taking 3mg of melatonin every other night.
Sticking with this strategy is, in my opinion, an excellent way to improve your sleep quality and help create a healthier you!
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