Resources:

Sleep OS Hormones → https://thelongevityvault.com/sleep-os/hormones/

Subscribe for more evidence-based guides on sleep in midlife and beyond → https://thelongevityvault.substack.com

Using Melatonin? Here’s How It Can Affect Your Blood Sugar Levels

Many adults use melatonin purely as a sleep aid, unaware that it’s also a hormone with broad metabolic effects. What helps you fall asleep can, under certain conditions, make it harder to maintain stable blood sugar—especially when taken close to meals or in higher doses.

This short episode explains how melatonin interacts with insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, why timing and genetics determine whether it helps or hinders glucose control, and how to adjust your use so it supports both sleep and metabolic health.

Key points:

• Human studies show that supplemental melatonin can reduce insulin secretion or sensitivity, leading to higher nighttime glucose levels.

• The effect depends heavily on timing—melatonin taken within a few hours of eating overlaps with digestion and sends the body mixed metabolic signals.

• About 30 percent of individuals carry an MTNR1B genetic variant that makes pancreatic cells more sensitive to melatonin’s “stop insulin” signal.

• Lower, physiologic doses (0.1–0.3 mg) taken after the digestive window—rather than standard 3–10 mg doses—are less likely to impair glucose control.

Listen for:

How melatonin’s hormone signaling extends beyond sleep, how meal timing and genetics shape its blood-sugar effects, and simple adjustments that let it work with your metabolism instead of against it.

If 3 a.m. wake-ups have become the new normal, explore how hormonal and metabolic support can help your body sustain sleep—not just signal it.

Learn more inside Sleep OS Hormones → https://thelongevityvault.com/sleep-os/hormones/