Resetting Your Clock and Melatonin’s Role

“Internal Circadian Rhythms, Metabolism and Food Cravings”

Your circadian rhythm is an internal 24-hour cycle that relies heavily on environmental cues like light and darkness. At the center of this process is melatonin or the "hormone of darkness" that acts as a master regulator by signaling your body that it is time to sleep, lowering your core temperature, and managing metabolic activity. To successfully reset your internal clock, you need to realign it with natural light patterns like sunlight and darkness.

Start by exposing yourself to bright, natural sunlight immediately upon waking, which tells your brain's master clock to release cortisol for wakefulness. As the day ends, avoid screens and bright artificial light for one to two hours before bed, as blue light suppresses melatonin production. Establishing a consistent sleep schedule (even on weekends) is important for setting a nightly bedtime. Finally, skip late-night snacks that can interfere with metabolic processes.

Adding low-glycemic, non-starchy vegetables to your diet can naturally improve your sleep quality. Vegetables like tomatoes and mushrooms contain natural melatonin, which directly boosts your body's melatonin levels after eating. Meanwhile, leafy greens such as spinach and kale are packed with lutein and zeaxanthin, the plant pigments that help filter out sleep-disrupting blue light. These greens, along with Swiss chard, also provide a healthy dose of magnesium and tryptophan. Magnesium acts as a natural muscle relaxant, while your brain converts tryptophan into serotonin and, ultimately, melatonin.

What is melatonin’s metabolic role?

The darkness hormone naturally partitions your day into two distinct metabolic phases. One is an active feeding phase that occurs when melatonin levels are low like early in morning after a good night’s sleep. Then comes the fasting phase that occurs when melatonin levels are high during nighttime periods of rest. High nocturnal levels induce a temporary state of insulin resistance to prevent blood sugar from dropping too low during overnight fasting. This is why eating late night when hormone levels are high can lead to poor metabolic outcomes. Melatonin does, however, stimulate the browning of white fat for thermogenesis where your body burns fatty lipids for heat production and inhibits the synthesis of cholesterol in the liver.

How Melatonin Affects Your Meals

Melatonin hormone that helps you get rest at night is not a sedative but is a timing-regulator naturally produced by your body to signal when it is time to get up in the morning as well as when it is time to slowdown for a restful night’s sleep. Since melatonin influences appetite and digestion, specific food intake at set times can increase your levels of melatonin to improve sleep quality. However, for best results, it is important to take melatonin supplements or eat melatonin-rich foods a couple of hours before bedtime.

If you are using melatonin supplements, you can maximize the pills efficacy by taking them 2-3 hours before or after food intake, as consumption can affect absorption. Plus, it is important to remember that melatonin binds to receptors in the pancreas to inhibit insulin production at night, so higher blood sugar levels should be expected after late-night snacking. Nonetheless, eating the right foods that promote serotonin for melatonin production like tryptophan-rich foods can also help restore and regulate your sleep-wake cycles.

Melatonin and mealtime have a bidirectional relationship with your gut-sleep axis or pathway. This means that what you eat can influence the levels of melatonin in your body, while melatonin pills or supplements can significantly alter how your body chooses to process those meals. It is important to note that recent research suggests melatonin supplements may alter the composition of beneficial bacteria in your gut microbiome when eating late night. Plus, even though food-based melatonin is at lower doses than supplements, it still helps to reset your clock and improve the quality of sleep you get at night.

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For starters, prioritize morning sunlight by stepping outside for a few minutes within an hour of waking up. This suppresses melatonin release and triggers a cortisol spike to start your day. But remember, any shift to your wake-sleep times is a primary disruptor of your internal clock’s circadian rhythm. Moreover, it’s important to manage changes to evening light gradually rather than making a drastic change all at once. If you’re struggling to sleep, contact Metabolic Research Center Pueblo today. One of our weight loss coaches will be in touch to discuss how you can get a good night’s sleep and still enjoy the weight loss benefits of a protein-first, low carb diet. After all, the quality of sleep you get isn’t just about getting through your daily grind; your gut-brain-melatonin axis is directly linked to increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney disease, stroke, and obesity.

*NOTE: Generally speaking, melatonin supplementation should be avoided by pregnant or breastfeeding women, those with autoimmune disease, or individuals taking immunosuppressants, blood thinners, or certain blood pressure medications.