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I'm a pretty healthy 29 year old male. However, I've been having some sleeping problems the past year and things have gotten progressively worse. 2 months ago, I would literally have insomnia every single night, toss and turn, and not be able to function during the work day, for a week. I then discovered Melatonin and have slept like a rock ever since.
I have noticed the nights I don't take Melatonin, I wake up around 3 or 4am, without fail, and toss and turn for a few hours. The nights I do take it, I have a solid 8 - 9 hours of sleep, wake up, and feel amazing every morning. I want to take it every day because it helps me that much, but I've been limiting myself to taking it only 3 - 4 times a week.
I've ran a search on these forums, and I don't really see any evidence if taking Melatonin on a nightly basis will hurt me or not. Since it's a natural chemical in my brain, can I become dependent on it? Are there any long term side effects that I might be missing?
Some people claim to have been taking it for 20 years and think it's the best stuff possible and others feel like it's a hormone that I will stop developing if I take it every night... whats the right answer and right way to take Melatonin?
I'm a pretty healthy 29 year old male. However, I've been having some sleeping problems the past year and things have gotten progressively worse. 2 months ago, I would literally have insomnia every single night, toss and turn, and not be able to function during the work day, for a week. I then discovered Melatonin and have slept like a rock ever since.
I have noticed the nights I don't take Melatonin, I wake up around 3 or 4am, without fail, and toss and turn for a few hours. The nights I do take it, I have a solid 8 - 9 hours of sleep, wake up, and feel amazing every morning. I want to take it every day because it helps me that much, but I've been limiting myself to taking it only 3 - 4 times a week.
I've ran a search on these forums, and I don't really see any evidence if taking Melatonin on a nightly basis will hurt me or not. Since it's a natural chemical in my brain, can I become dependent on it? Are there any long term side effects that I might be missing?
Some people claim to have been taking it for 20 years and think it's the best stuff possible and others feel like it's a hormone that I will stop developing if I take it every night... whats the right answer and right way to take Melatonin?
I have also been experimenting with it. I don't have the sources available but what I read was not to take it every night and only take .3 mg. The smallest dose I could find was 1 mg, so I bought a pill splitter and take .5 mg. The sources I read said to take it 1-2 hours before going to bed. I can't say that I have seen much of a difference on nights when I take it.
It doesn't work for me at all - it does however make me feel listless and low-energy the following day - I hate the way it makes me feel....I actually sleep better without it and that is saying a lot.
I have also been experimenting with it. I don't have the sources available but what I read was not to take it every night and only take .3 mg. The smallest dose I could find was 1 mg, so I bought a pill splitter and take .5 mg. The sources I read said to take it 1-2 hours before going to bed. I can't say that I have seen much of a difference on nights when I take it.
.3MG isn't going to do much. Your brain should produce 5-25 Micrograms every night, so .3 is much less than what you need.
You are confusing mg. and mcg. .3 Milligrams is equal to 300 Micrograms. According to your source, "Healthy young and middle-aged adults usually secrete about 5 to 25 micrograms of melatonin each night." So .3 mg is at least 12 times what healthy young and middle-aged adults produce each night.
I don't know much about Melatonin as a sleep aid...I DO however know it is suggested as a supplement for people that work the graveyard shift. I was doing some research years ago because my husband works nights and the graveyard shift is linked to higher rates of cancer, and that is how I came across Melatonin. Apparently, people who work nights are lacking in Melatonin because it has something to do with not being in the sunlight? Sorry I am fuzzy on this, it was a few years back. I'm sure taking a supplement can be beneficial but just like anything else that is good for you, it might not be good if you overdo it. I would maybe seek advice from a doctor, or get some books on natural remedies etc, because they can be very helpful when looking for non-medicinal methods or if you don't necessarily trust Doctors.
Melatonin is perfectly safe and one of the best things out there for non-narcotic and non-addicting sleep aids.
Like you said, it's a natural chemical that is secreted in our bodies--by the pineal gland--which regulates our sleep/awake cycle, which is called our "circadian rythym."
I tried it a few years ago an it worked great, but man, it also gave me some hellaciously vivid, and almost disturbing, dreams & nightmares.
I don't know much about Melatonin as a sleep aid...I DO however know it is suggested as a supplement for people that work the graveyard shift. I was doing some research years ago because my husband works nights and the graveyard shift is linked to higher rates of cancer, and that is how I came across Melatonin. Apparently, people who work nights are lacking in Melatonin because it has something to do with not being in the sunlight? Sorry I am fuzzy on this, it was a few years back. I'm sure taking a supplement can be beneficial but just like anything else that is good for you, it might not be good if you overdo it. I would maybe seek advice from a doctor, or get some books on natural remedies etc, because they can be very helpful when looking for non-medicinal methods or if you don't necessarily trust Doctors.
Are you sure you're not confusing melatonin with melanin? Melanin is the pigment that gives your skin its color. It's also where the word "melanoma" (one of the two forms of skin cancer) comes from.
Melatonin is a hormone that regulates sleep cycles (aka the circadian rhythms).
Are you sure you're not confusing melatonin with melanin? Melanin is the pigment that gives your skin its color. It's also where the word "melanoma" (one of the two forms of skin cancer) comes from.
Melatonin is a hormone that regulates sleep cycles (aka the circadian rhythms).
From what the person said, they are not confusing melatonin with melanin. I, too, have heard about people working the graveyard shift needing melatonin to regulate their sleep cycle. I don't know if it's anything to do with not getting enough light, probably it's more of being out of sync with the natural cycle of sleeping when it's dark and being awake when it's light. So it does sound like it could be related to lack of light somehow, perhaps having light when you're awake as opposed to light when you're asleep.
For the record, I went to a sleep specialist who put me on melatonin and it did nothing at all. I tried it again this year at someone else's suggestion and it didn't do anything this time either. It works for some people though.
From what the person said, they are not confusing melatonin with melanin. I, too, have heard about people working the graveyard shift needing melatonin to regulate their sleep cycle. I don't know if it's anything to do with not getting enough light, probably it's more of being out of sync with the natural cycle of sleeping when it's dark and being awake when it's light. So it does sound like it could be related to lack of light somehow, perhaps having light when you're awake as opposed to light when you're asleep.
For the record, I went to a sleep specialist who put me on melatonin and it did nothing at all. I tried it again this year at someone else's suggestion and it didn't do anything this time either. It works for some people though.
The previous poster said that he heard melatonin had something to do with the formation of cancer.
Melatonin does not. Melanin, however, does. Both have something to do with light, but have nothing to do with each other. Melatonin's relationship with light, is about daylight hours, and circadian rhythms, and having natural light to mark the brain's sense of "daytime" and "night-time," "waketime" and "sleeptime." Melanin's relation with light is very specifically the rays of the sun, which affect the skin cells, which is where melanin is produced and stored. The rays of the sun are what causes melanoma. Being awake in daylight does not.
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