Ever found yourself tossing and turning, staring at the ceiling, desperately wishing for sleep? You’re not alone, and there are times you have likely thought about what sleep aid you might want to try. Melatonin sleep patches might be the answer you’re looking for, offering a unique way to drift off to dreamland.
Melatonin sleep patches are a newer way to get a dose of this popular sleep-promoting hormone. But do they actually work as well as people are saying, and how safe are they to use regularly?
Table of Contents:
- What Exactly Are Melatonin Sleep Patches?
- What Does the Research Show?
- Is it a Risky Sleep Aid?
- Who Should Think About Using Melatonin Sleep Patches?
- Conclusion
What Exactly Are Melatonin Sleep Patches?
Melatonin sleep patches are adhesive patches. These are a lot like a nicotine or birth control patch. You apply them directly to your skin, where the melatonin is slowly released and then absorbed into your body.
This transdermal delivery system is different from taking melatonin in a pill, gummy, or liquid form. Oral melatonin supplements give you a quick spike in melatonin, to help ease you into a slumber. The patches provide a more sustained release over several hours and this ideally mimics how your body naturally produces it.
How the Patches Work
The topical patch technology relies on something called a drug delivery matrix. This is the part that contains the melatonin and any other patch ingredients. After applying the patch to your skin, your body heat activates this matrix, and it’ll begin gradually releasing the melatonin.
The melatonin then moves through the skin’s outer layers. Eventually it’ll be reach tiny blood vessels just beneath the surface. This gradual process aims to avoid the initial melatonin rush and sharp drop-off.
You would sometimes get that with a rapid release formula. This process is what helps people keep snoozing peacefully all night long.
What’s Inside of the Patches?
Besides the star ingredient, melatonin, many sleep patches contain other natural ingredients. This could include natural sleep-promoting herbs like valerian root or L-theanine. They could also have adhesives to help the patch brand stick, and compounds that let melatonin absorb better.
It is important to always look at the ingredient list. This way, you can check for things that your body does not tolerate. You can talk about possible side effects of the ingredient with a doctor as well.
Some products claim a high rate of absorption due to black pepper extract. But research for this claim varies. The addition of black pepper is believed by some to enhance absorption.
What Does the Research Show?
Much of the excitement around melatonin for sleep centers on how this naturally occurring hormone helps manage the sleep-wake cycle. Our body produces less of this hormone when it’s light. Then you’ll increase your production when it is dark and it starts preparing your system for resting.
However, artificial light, electronic screens, and busy lifestyles disrupt our circadian rhythms. Taking melatonin as a sleeping aid could potentially counter some of these effects, helping to regulate your sleep timing.
Can Melatonin Sleep Patches Really Fix Bad Sleeping Issues?
Research on transdermal melatonin specifically is limited but promising. A notable study by Aeschbach et al. (2009) explored the effects of using a patch form during daytime sleep. For example, they used it among shift workers.
These patches seemed to reduce wake-ups, allowing participants more beneficial, restorative sleep phases. The idea is that this might translate for elderly people, too. Their natural melatonin levels often decline over the years, and the result of that causes less restful night’s sleep and frequent wake-ups.
While melatonin patches have potential benefits for some, most in-depth sleep studies currently focus on melatonin in pills, tablets or other forms. Still, many people do consider taking melatonin. The study show people see that its effects outweighing those typically linked to prescribed drugs.
Comparing Delivery Methods
How you take a supplement, or anything for that matter, affects how efficiently your system can use it. Here’s where we need to consider “bioavailability”. This is a percentage of how much of the melatonin delivery actually makes it into your system.
Think of it like drinking juice. Swallowing the drink goes through your digestive tract. Some nutrients will be lost along the way.
Directly injecting that same juice would lead to higher nutrients in your body. This example is because the digestive process isn’t skipping those nutrient breakdowns.
Here’s a simplified breakdown, to illustrate that for melatonin:
Is it a Risky Sleep Aid?
Both sleep experts and researchers believe melatonin in common supplement or patch form to be okay. This is assuming that it’s used in the short term. Of course, “safe” is always with some caution.
Like anything that you consume into your system, some effects can include mild headaches, feeling dizzy, feeling moody, or experiencing tummy troubles. Using a sleep solution like melatonin needs to be a personal choice, carefully thought out.
Groups with Risk Concerns
Some individuals have to think twice when it comes to melatonin supplements or patches, for various health concerns. Consider, people who:
- Are expecting a baby or trying to have one.
- Deal with conditions like high blood pressure.
- Struggle regularly with depressed feelings.
- Have a seizure condition.
In general, talk to your doctor if anything makes you uneasy. Especially if it pertains to giving these to a young one, or mixing with a new or existing prescribed pill you take regularly. One of the smartest thing that one can do, is discuss these types of things with doctors or qualified healthcare experts.
Patch-Specific Concerns:
Unlike pills, melatonin sleep patches can occasionally introduce other possible considerations. Since they stick right on your skin, allergic reactions become more of a possibility.
Here’s a real-life concern people sometimes have: Could the constant flow of melatonin throw off the natural sleep cycle? Although many factors influence overall sleep patterns.
There’s some agreement that having consistent sleep schedules and light management practices can aid longer-term regulation in this situation. Improving your healthy sleep patterns naturally should also be a top focus.
Who Should Think About Using Melatonin Sleep Patches?
People struggling mainly with falling asleep at first may benefit from trying an oral form. Its a faster approach in situations where they do not have a rapid onset sleep disorder. Those seeking to fall asleep quicker will often opt for alternatives to patches.
Someone’s job, schedule and/or age is contributing to them missing hours in a deeper rest or in need of dozing off outside of regular nighttime windows. So they might prefer melatonin sleep patches for its design as something potentially delivering lasting help until one awakes. This also is true for people that can fall asleep, but cannot stay asleep.
Those living near noisy city construction often report problems to others around them, for instance, with disruptions consistently occurring. This could contribute to a frequent or persistent wake-up as those sounds occur over some lengthy timespan at times during most week nights. Melatonin can certainly act for something to reduce sleep deprivation like this.
A Potential First Solution?
Even if something seems promising, its great having personalized insights when thinking of using supplements. One would be wise consult their physician or healthcare professional first prior. Focusing on improved sleep quality should involve all aspects of your life.
With so many factors going into anyone’s restful night’s slumbers, having a doctor aware could certainly become useful down-the-line, particularly involving personal use over extended duration regularly. Healthcare providers could then offer individual opinions concerning what is your healthiest, safest route forward involving dosage choices suited specific to needs arising unexpectedly, now and into one’s own long- term scenarios. The main goal of anyone with sleeping disorders is likely to just get quality shut-eye.
They can address individual things with a much more informed, insightful solution to one that truly fits a person long term. For a patch review, always rely on consulting medical experts. This article should not serve as a final patch review source, only to be informational and helpful.
Conclusion
While many people have some familiarity of common supplement types to address sleep issues, such as pills, melatonin sleep patches bring transdermal absorption approach in solving disrupted nights more frequently. The hope for everyone is that they have consistent irregular sleep patterns no more. Using melatonin could help improve your heart health in the long run also.
Transdermal technology releases components steadily rather than quickly with higher rate supplements typically taken via quick rapid method. Melatonin, sleep quality regular for the bodies circadian rhythm, becomes involved along with your sleep-promoting herbs such as Valarian Root, or adhesive allowing sticking.
When we sleep soundly, our bodies naturally produce that special hormone. Using Melatonin sleep patches give your system an added bit over multiple time releasing more into us-the exact intent, so one potentially would enjoy an undisturbed night. Many experts actually believe these patches have real usefulness in resolving issues in consistently and regularly getting peaceful nights rest now over traditional ways- potentially, acting as fantastic sleep products. This alone presents a valid point for everyone.
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