Article: Melatonin: nature's mysterious sleep chemical: the effects of melatonin on sleep onset are recognized but still poorly understood.

Research has shown that melatonin is involved in regulating the circadian rhythm. Its clinical use in several rhythm disorders is recognized, and it has a chronobiotic effect in advancing sleep onset. However, while melatonin treatments are popular and new prospects are posed by the release of ramelteon--a melatonin receptor selective agonist that may become a latest generation hypnotic--the use of melatonin in insomnia is controversial since the mechanisms involved are little known.

Melatonin is the main substance produced by the pineal gland, a small structure located between the cerebral hemispheres, in front of the cerebellum, in the postdorsal position of ...

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