Melatonin is important to regulate sleep patterns but it is also necessary to boost the metabolism through its anti-inflammatory action. If its production at night is disturbed by artificial light, we might end up putting on weight as a consequence.

A tv on, your mobile recharging in a corner, the intermittent light of your laptop closed but not switched off: these can be disturbances to the natural rest the body needs to recover from the stresses of daytime and to put the right amount of melatonin in action to keep the whole system going . The hormone is naturally present in plants, animals and humans, as a hormonal signal released during the night to establish circadian rhythms. This is why we should be careful, not to expose ourselves to unnatural sources of light during the night.

Among the foods that contain melatonin naturally we find pineapples, bananas, oranges, oats, sweet corn, rice, tomatoes and barley - all great for the evening.