Melatonin and Thyroid: What’s the Connection?

What is the connection between melatonin and your thyroid? Many people use melatonin to help their sleep, but what do we need to know about it and how does it affect other parts of our body? In this article, I want to help paint a clearer picture of melatonin use.

In fact, melatonin is so relevant it helped inspire me to create a new product: Thyrotonin. Before I make the full introduction, though, let me talk about how thyroid hormones and melatonin work together – and how that might be influencing your overall health.

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Table of Contents

What is Melatonin and Is It Linked to Thyroid Function?
Melatonin and Thyroid Function?
What Are the Long-Term Effects of Melatonin?
Can Melatonin Make Hypothyroidism Worse?
Remember This About Using Melatonin for Sleep

What Is Melatonin and Is It Linked to Thyroid Function?

People often ask if melatonin can make hypothyroidism worse, and we will get to that. Melatonin is a hormone known as a peptide hormone (meaning it is a chain of amino acids). In general, hormones come in two large categories:

• Peptides
• Steroids

Peptides are amino acid chains, whereas steroids are modified versions of cholesterol. The general rule of thumb is that peptides come “from the waist up” (the pancreas, thyroid, thalamus, pituitary, and pineal gland).

The main role of melatonin is to start the whole sleep process. It does not preserve sleep throughout the night but helps initiate the events that cause us to wind down and go to bed.

As such, we can begin to see a bit of a “see-saw relationship” between melatonin and cortisol. When we have a healthy daily circadian rhythm, cortisol is high in the morning and slows down throughout the day.

During the time that cortisol normally drops off in the afternoon and the evening, that allows melatonin to begin creeping up and hitting its ultimate nighttime levels. That timing is what ends up majorly influencing the timing of our sleep.

Melatonin and Thyroid Function

There is a positive link between melatonin and thyroid function. It also affects sleep, general health, and many other relevant symptoms. Interesting to note, though, is that there is popular usage of melatonin in higher dosages.

This comes from the fact that there are amounts of melatonin that our body makes and amounts that we can absorb by way of supplements. It turns out that the higher amounts we absorb can worsen elements of autoimmunity.

A large recent study showed exactly that. They found that common, over-the-counter doses of melatonin may worsen autoimmune responses (while worsening the internal quality of sleep)1.

But, why would this happen? Why would the hormone that helps you sleep make you not sleep as well? It’s a bit of a tricky paradox.

This comes down to a lot of ways in which the body is not intuitive but ends up making sense. Overall, the body is always expecting a certain amount of melatonin. That is controlled in terms of how much comes out in the bloodstream and in how the cells respond to melatonin. The wrong amount of melatonin can make hypothyroidism worse.

When we get huge amounts of melatonin, receptors in our body diminish and our cells are less able to absorb the amounts you might otherwise need. This is known as “receptor down-regulation.” It is one of the many ways that hormones do the opposite of what we otherwise need them to do (you can see an example of it in the image above)².

What Are the Long-Term Effects of Melatonin?

What are the consequences of melatonin and its long-term use? The first is that, when we become numb to melatonin, we don’t sleep as well as we used to. You can have a hard time getting to sleep, as well as staying asleep throughout the night.

We may also find ourselves suffering from what is known as dyssomnias. Dyssomnias include forms of:

• Nighttime insomnia
• Daytime sleepiness
• Exaggerated sleep requirements

That said, tiny amounts of melatonin in the form of supplements such as Thyrotonin can be a good thing. They can improve sleep, regulate immunity, and reduce free radicals. However, many of these benefits vanish when the dose becomes too high.

What Are the Benefits of Melatonin and How Do They Affect the Thyroid?

Here’s something to keep in mind: We are increasingly finding that how much melatonin we make can be complemented by small amounts of it. We can get some of it from our diet, but we can also consume small amounts with supplements such as Thyrotonin.

It turns out that, when supplemented, if melatonin hits the bloodstream more quickly and in tiny amounts, it is useful and it causes us to make more melatonin on our own. It can serve as a trigger for our bodies to make more, not less, of it.

What Do We Mean by High Doses of Melatonin and Its Effect on the Thyroid?

Let’s dive into dosages! This might be a bit jarring for some people, but when we talk about high doses of melatonin and the thyroid, we are talking about doses in the range of one milligram or greater. For context, a milligram is the same as 1000 micrograms.

The most common potencies of melatonin that we see on the market right now are between five and 20 milligrams. Or, 5,000 to 20,000 micrograms.

While these things, at these high dosages, may work – they can cause you to fall asleep and fast – what happens is it increases competition between companies to continuously increase their available dosages. But, more is certainly not always better – in fact, it can be a lot worse.

This becomes even more pronounced as we age. Once we move past 40 years of age, all of the things I just mentioned are even more significant and pronounced.

Ultimately, somewhere between 100-200 micrograms (0.1-0.2 milligrams) seems to be the sweet spot for melatonin and the thyroid. That is a truly tiny amount that can make a huge difference.

Can Melatonin Make Hypothyroidism Worse?

When it comes to melatonin and the thyroid, melatonin may prevent thyroid cell proliferation and can interfere with thyroid hormone synthesis. While this may actually be beneficial for people with hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid), it may be problematic for people with normal thyroid function and even more so for those with hypothyroidism. People who take melatonin regularly should check their thyroid levels to ensure that they’re optimal.

It should also be noted that it may not just be melatonin that hinders an already underactive thyroid. Poor sleep quality also negatively impacts the thyroid because of the increased stress it causes in the body. While melatonin can make hypothyroidism worse, it’s not the only factor.

Remember This About Using Melatonin for Sleep

If you remember only a few things from today’s article, I want you to remember that the most effective doses of melatonin for the thyroid appear to be 100-200 micrograms for adults.

While melatonin can work in the short term, it is not a safe or reliable option to ensure great quality sleep. In fact, it can have the opposite effect, and bigger doses of melatonin can make hypothyroidism worse.

That’s because supplementing too much melatonin can take away your body’s own output. Your body becomes unable to make amounts it would otherwise be able to make on its own thyrotonin.

But, the issue has little to do with melatonin and the thyroid itself and everything to do with the dose. Small doses can not only help, but they can be incredibly safe or used long-term.

Introducing Thyrotonin

All of this discussion helped me envision and create a new product that I thought would help, and would also balance out a lot of the options currently available on the market.

I call it Thyrotonin. The amount of melatonin and the thyroid are linked, and those suffering from thyroid disease simply have different requirements to get the right amounts.

This is made in a 100-microgram capsule. The usage is 1-2 capsules, around 30 minutes before bed, on an empty stomach.

It’s that easy. It can be used on a regular basis, but few people need it regularly. Between its effects and some sleep hygiene tips, you can get back to quality sleep in a hurry.

It is also helpful for those looking to reset their sleep schedule. If you are feeling jetlagged, you could consider taking three capsules, 30 minutes before sleep, again on an empty stomach.

There is a direct link between melatonin and the thyroid, and supplements can help if they are taken safely. I hope this helped answer some of your top questions, while also introducing you to the benefits of Thyrotonin today.

P.S. Whenever you are ready, here is how I can help you now:

1. Schedule a Thyroid Second Opinion with me, Dr. C.
   2. Need a Thyroid Supplement Recommendation? Take My Thyroid Specific Formulations Quiz now.
   3. Need a Personalized Supplement? Check out my Thyroid Specific Formulations.
   4. Download and use my Favorite Recipes Cookbook.
   5. Check out my podcast Medical Myths, Legends, and Fairytales.

Dr. Alan Glen Christianson (Dr. C) is a Naturopathic Endocrinologist and the author of The NY Times bestselling Adrenal Reset Diet, The Metabolism Reset Diet, and The Thyroid Reset Diet.

Dr. C’s gift for figuring out what really works has helped hundreds of thousands of people reverse thyroid disease, lose weight, manage diabetes, and regain energy. Learn more about the surprising story that started his quest.