Can Melatonin Reduce the Chance of Getting Infected With Covid-19?

Covid-19 has forever altered how people live worldwide. It has found its way into every country and wreaked havoc among its citizens. Hundreds of millions of people have been infected, and over four million have succumbed to Covid-19. While there is hope that vaccines will bring this pandemic under control, new variants and infection waves still plague many communities.

People are exploring multiple options to reduce their exposure to the virus, such as social distancing, mask-wearing, hand sanitization, and avoiding crowded spaces. Many continue working from home to protect themselves. However, research suggests that some supplements may reduce your chances of getting a Covid-19 infection. Here is an example:

The Sleep Hormone

When someone mentions melatonin, those who have heard of it before link it with the body’s circadian rhythms, regulating sleeping patterns. This is your body’s ability to demonstrate a need for sleep when it is dark and to be awake when it is light. Melatonin is a hormone that your body’s pineal gland produces, using the feel-good neurotransmitter serotonin as its primary ingredient. A shortage of melatonin could cause disrupted sleep patterns. This could mean struggling to fall asleep, challenges sleeping through the night, or a combination of both. But is there a relationship between melatonin and coronavirus or other medical conditions?

Many people with depression find sleeping problematic. This condition typically features a serotonin imbalance. Scientists suspect that insufficient serotonin results in less being available to convert into melatonin, potentially causing insomnia. While this is a well-established fact, drawing links between melatonin and other conditions remains in its infancy, and more research is necessary.

Melatonin and Covid

Recent research indicates that melatonin could reduce a person’s chances of a Covid-19 infection by about 30%. During the study, researchers scrutinized records of infected persons at the hospital. Based on data obtained from Covid test patients, it seems that those who were using a melatonin supplement were 30% less likely to test positive.  This is promising at a time when all defenses against Covid are of great importance.

Not all experts agree that taking melatonin will prevent someone from getting Covid. However, there is consensus that these results certainly warrant more investigation, given that all defenses against the virus must be understood to end this pandemic. Melatonin is by no means being touted as a Covid preventer that people can use instead of other measures, including vaccination, mask-wearing, social distancing, and hand sanitization. Instead, melatonin may act as an additional precautionary measure, although scientists must conduct more extensive investigations to establish this as a scientific fact.

How Could Melatonin Help?

Melatonin has anti-inflammatory effects and is rich in antioxidants. These factors boost the body’s immune system, helping it fight off infections from viruses, bacteria, and fungi. As the body’s first line of defense when confronted by foreign substances, a healthy immune system is essential to combat an infection. People with autoimmune diseases, such as diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, are deemed a higher infection risk as their immune systems do not function optimally.

Immune-boosting supplements have flown off the shelves since Covid began, with many people using them to keep their immune systems working well to prevent infection. As melatonin is also vital for maintaining a healthy immune system, it stands to reason that this substance could play a role in combatting the disease.

Melatonin and Vaccination

As it stands, the best-known Covid prevention method is vaccination, and countries worldwide are rolling out campaigns to get citizens immunized. Vaccinations tend to stimulate a viral response, which is worse among those people with weakened immune systems. Melatonin can also have a positive role to play in this endeavor.

Melatonin helps the body get sufficient sleep when the immune system is working its hardest to repair damaged cells and fight off infections. Getting quality sleep in the lead-up to and aftermath of vaccination will minimize its effects and maximize its usefulness to the body.

Melatonin and the New Normal

People’s lifestyles have changed drastically since Covid began. The lockdowns and working from home have altered many people’s sleep patterns. Some found themselves binge-watching television right through the night and wanting to sleep during the day. Getting their sleeping patterns back on track may require some additional melatonin. It helps the body get back into a rhythm and associate darkness with sleep and light with wakefulness.

Abandoning a schedule that you have followed for years seems easy to do. However, reverting to it can be a challenging task. This is something many people are facing as businesses reopen and the economy returns to normal. Taking melatonin and hoping it will perform a miracle is unrealistic. Instead, it should be used in conjunction with exercise, diet, and meditation as a holistic approach to getting a good night’s sleep. This includes eliminating alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine intake before bedtime, limiting screentime, and reducing stress and anxiety levels.