Hot flushes, restless nights, blood sugar dips, and hormonal havoc – could low melatonin be part of the picture?
When we think of melatonin, most of us go straight to sleep. But this powerful hormone does far more than simply help us drift off. Produced mainly in the brain’s pineal gland, melatonin plays a central role in regulating body temperature, metabolic function, and our internal body clock. And as we move through perimenopause, a natural decline in melatonin might be making things feel even more out of balance.
Your Body’s Rhythm Needs Resetting – Every Day
Our circadian rhythm (that internal clock that tells us when to sleep, eat, and function) doesn’t naturally run on a perfect 24-hour schedule. It relies on daily cues from light, darkness, and hormonal signals to reset.
In the morning, sunlight triggers a natural rise in cortisol — your ‘wake-up and get moving’ hormone.
By evening, the absence of light allows melatonin to rise, sending your body into rest-and-repair mode.
But with modern life — screens late at night, stress, alcohol, irregular sleep patterns — this delicate balance gets disrupted. Cue night sweats, insomnia, low energy, cravings, and even blood sugar crashes during the day.
Melatonin’s Night Shift: Why It’s Crucial
Melatonin levels start rising about two hours before bedtime and typically peak between 2–4am — that is, if we’re supporting our natural rhythm.
Why does this peak matter? Because melatonin helps drop your core body temperature, making it easier for you to fall asleep and stay there.
If this drop doesn’t happen properly, you might find yourself wide awake at 3am — hot, tossing off the duvet, and wondering what’s gone wrong again. Sound familiar?
Declining Melatonin + Perimenopause = Night-Time Struggles
Melatonin naturally begins to decline as we age, often starting around 40, and dropping more significantly by 50. For many women in perimenopause, this decline shows up as worsening sleep, increased anxiety, and those dreaded night sweats.
Melatonin can be further suppressed by things like:
– Eating late at night
– Blue light exposure from screens before bed
– Evening alcohol
– Caffeine after midday
– Ongoing stress and inflammation
These are all incredibly common in midlife, so it’s no wonder so many women lie awake wondering what’s changed.
Melatonin, Metabolism & Those Late-Night Cravings
Melatonin isn’t just a sleep aid — it also helps regulate insulin, glucose, and your hunger hormones like ghrelin.
Poor melatonin production or disrupted sleep can contribute to:
– Blood sugar crashes
– Insulin resistance
– Increased cravings
– Weight gain (especially around the middle)
If you’ve ever had a broken night’s sleep and found yourself ravenous the next day, craving sugar or carbs, that’s your hormones — not willpower — talking.
The Mitochondria & Hormone Connection
Your mitochondria — the energy centres in each of your cells — also produce melatonin. It’s one of your body’s most powerful antioxidants, reducing inflammation and supporting hormone synthesis at a cellular level.
In fact, the very first step in making hormones like oestrogen, progesterone and cortisol happens in the mitochondria — and the ovaries are especially rich in melatonin. So if we want better hormonal balance, we have to start supporting melatonin.
Support from Within – and When to Supplement
Often, we blame poor sleep on stress or low progesterone (which are both important), but melatonin is frequently the missing piece — quietly declining and throwing off your entire rhythm.
Before jumping into strong sleep aids or hormone therapies, look at your daily light exposure, evening routine, and bedtime environment. These simple shifts can help your body produce melatonin more naturally.
For extra support, we recommend PCH Mood & Sleep, which has been carefully formulated to support your serotonin and melatonin levels.
Final Thought
If you’re feeling wired at night, hot in the early hours, exhausted during the day, and endlessly craving sugar, your melatonin may be trying to tell you something.
And if you want clarity on what’s really going on with your hormones, the DUTCH Test is a brilliant place to start. This test tracks your hormone patterns across your whole cycle or 24 hours, giving insight into oestrogen and progesterone metabolites, inflammation, cortisol as well as measuring your melatonin levels— and how that ties into mood, sleep, energy and more.
Ready to Understand Your Hormones Better?
Don’t miss our FREE video: The 5 Steps to Balancing Your Hormones — where Pippa walks you through practical, proven strategies to support your body through perimenopause and beyond. Click here to watch now
