Doctor reveals the secret to better sleep - and it's not melatonin

When it comes to getting a good night's sleep, we've heard plenty of tips, tricks and health advice around what might be the key to the best shut-eye.

Melatonin, a hormone released by the brain at night, in particular, is often hailed as the answer to better sleep, and is often included in sleep supplements as a result.

But as Dr Rahul Jandial, world-renowned brain surgeon and neuroscientist, tells 9Honey it might not actually be the answer.

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"How do we get better sleep is a difficult topic because our modern world has posed new challenges," the author of Life Lessons From A Brain Surgeon explains.

"First of all, I think when it comes to the myths we've been hearing, one is that sleep is controlled by a hormone called melatonin. This is a popular pitch and a popular product that is sold."

Yet drawing on his experience as a brain surgeon, Dr Jandial argues this is not the case.

"What I found, and I was one of the first people to publicise this, when we do surgeries that remove the pineal gland in the brain, like for certain tumours, the patients sleep just fine.

"Their blood work shows low or no melatonin. So I think this idea that one brain chemical or one brain hormone does something as fundamental as help us sleep is flawed."

The pineal gland is a small, pea-shaped gland in the brain which produces and regulates some hormones, including melatonin.

READ MORE: Doctor reveals what one night of bad sleep can do to your brain

So the next question is, well, what does control it?

Dr Jandial points to another area in the body directly behind the bridge of your nose that reacts to light.

"There's a small cluster of cells right above where the eye's nerves go back into your brain, and they set our circadian rhythm," he explains.

"All of us are in tune to the Earth's revolutions of day and night, plants, animals, and really what triggers sleep is the loss of light.

"And there's more evidence coming out now about how just a little bit of dim light while you're sleeping can get in the way of sleep and disrupt your metabolic health."

Indeed, just this week a new study found sleeping with even a small amount of light can increase your risk of chronic illness.

The research suggested exposure to light could increase your risk of insulin resistance or metabolic dysfunction like diabetes and other cardiovascular diseases, because you are not getting consistent good sleep.

READ MORE: What one week without exercise can do to your mind

So the key to sleep is regulating your light exposure and not, as Dr Jandial points out, "taking melatonin from the stores or buying some gadget".

"Light exposure is the central sort of thermostat for all of the cascading events throughout our brain and body that say it's sleep time," he adds.

"Your liver changes when you sleep, your gut behaves differently when you sleep. So this sort of master regulator of our body and mind is fascinating and useful to understand."