Melatonin Attenuates Stress But There is Something Fishy About It

Melatonin can induce sleep and reduce cortisone stress but this was done in Zebra Fish…

Lunkes LC, Paiva IM, Egger RC, Braga WF, Alvarez-Leite JI, da Cunha Barreto-Vianna AR, Murgas LDS.
Melatonin administration attenuates acute stress by inducing sleep state in zebrafish (Danio rerio).
Comp Biochem Physiol C Toxicol Pharmacol. 2021 Apr 7;246:109044.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33838315/

“Melatonin was able to modulate acute stress effects on zebrafish by inhibiting cortisol increasing levels, reducing locomotor parameters, inducing a sleep state, reducing lipid peroxidation and stimulating antioxidant enzymatic activity.”

Comment –

Doesn’t help sleep efficacy that much (2-7%)

But gets you to sleep a little faster(2-20 min)

Helps cancer little bit:

Shiu, Stephen YW.
Towards rational and evidence‐based use of melatonin in prostate cancer prevention and treatment.
Journal of pineal research 43.1 (2007): 1-9.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1600-079X.2007.00451.x

Sanchez-Barcelo, Emilio J., et al.
Melatonin uses in oncology: breast cancer prevention and reduction of the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation.
Expert opinion on investigational drugs 21.6 (2012): 819-831.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1517/13543784.2012.681045

Li, Ya, et al.
Melatonin for the prevention and treatment of cancer.
Oncotarget 8.24 (2017): 39896.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5503661/

Melatonin has been shown to help irritable bowel syndrome:

Siah KT, Wong RK, Ho KY.
Melatonin for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.
World J Gastroenterol. 2014 Mar 14;20(10):2492-8
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24627586/

I take melatonin 15 mg hs for its anti-cancer effects and it does help sleep and irritable bowel some as well…