Researchers have also found melatonin to significantly reduce levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. In fact, one study showed that melatonin could decrease LDL cholesterol by up to 42%. Melatonin also has been proven to lower high blood pressure. Low blood levels of melatonin have been implicated in patients with manic depression and schizophrenia; in these cases, restoring patients to normal nighttime levels of melatonin reversed their disorders. Stress and the associated adrenal hormone cortisol may have been contributing factors in reducing the patients’ amounts of melatonin.
The pineal gland isn’t the only gland functioning during sleep. The endocrine glands secrete human growth hormone (HGH) and a variety of other hormones during sleep. Also, physiological processes that occur during the dream stage of sleep have been shown to improve cognitive health.
