One of the problems with melatonin is that most of the studies were done on animals and not humans. Animal studies are used by the scientific community to indicate whether a substance has promise, and can yield valuable results even though they are ethically questionable.

One such study was done at the University of Texas Health Science Center where scientists were able to establish not only that walnuts contained melatonin, but that it was able to be absorbed – at least by rats. But they believe humans would also be able to absorb melatonin from walnuts. Unfortunately, they don’t know just how many walnuts you’d have to eat to get any benefits. It might require a sackful for a good night’s sleep! But using food as a source of melatonin is a good option given that it is much safer, particularly if suffering from any serious illnesses.

People who should not take melatonin supplements include children, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, those with serious allergies and HIV and cancer patients.

Melatonin is a very powerful substance and only small doses are needed to create improvements. For example, dosages as small as 2 to 3 mg only can help people suffering from insomnia. One such sleep aid is Melatrol if you fancy giving it a go.

Overall, melatonin is very promising, and may well help people with serious illnesses like cancer and multiple sclerosis. In the meantime, increasing our dietary intake of foods like walnuts that potentially supply us with this wonderful nutrient, may have a host of protective health benefits as well as slowing down the aging process and help insomniacs.

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Psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, and acute stress probably make up the largest group of insomnia causes. People with any of these problems will often find insomnia to be a part of the symptoms of the above listed problems. Also, issues including schizophrenia or bipolar disorder may cause insomnia for some people.

The other large causes of insomnia are physical problems. These could include problems like sleep apnea, hyperthyroidism, congestive heart failure, acid reflux, COPD (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), or nocturnal asthma. These problems make it actually physically difficult for a person to fall asleep and/or stay asleep and get good rest.

Along with some of the above listed insomnia causes, there are also some groups of people who might be at a higher risk for insomnia. These groups include seniors, travellers, adolescents or young students, pregnant women, and menopausal women. In addition, there are certain substances that people take that may also cause shorter term insomnia – the cessation of using these substances, at least near bedtime, should stop or ease the problem of insomnia. Some examples of these substances could include the following: alcohol or stimulants associated with caffeine or nicotine.

Also, medications for the following purposes may cause insomnia: some cold and asthma products, high blood pressure medicines, and some medications for depression, anxiety, and/or schizophrenia.

All in all, as you can see from the above lists, there are a variety of insomnia causes. Some can be avoided through avoiding activities or substances, while others may need treatment of the underlying problem in order to be able to also cure the insomnia.