Do you take melatonin?

A while ago, I had a bad sleeping schedule because I had to do some things at night. I was hoping I could get some help with melatonin. I bought some earlier in the year.

I cut it up into tiny doses because I know that anything I take affects me more than others. I tried a 1/4 tablet of a 3g dose. It didn’t do anything bad, and I did sleep, but I’m not sure it was because of that.

I’ve been sleeping a lot lately, so I haven’t had reason to try it out more.

I know someone who swears by it. She says that she gets the best sleep she’s ever had with melatonin. She takes a lot of sleep meds and says this has worked the best for her. She says she wakes up refreshed and sleeps through the night.

For those people who have tried melatonin, does it work well? Any side-effects?

As yet I don’t take melatonin but do suffer from sleep problems due to working what I call ‘silly shifts’, permanent night shifts, for far too long. Not being able to sleep is not a problem, it’s the fact my circadian rhythm seems not to exist now so I sleep at odd hours during the 24-hour day / night. When all this catches up with me I am feeling completely shattered so can just sleep for 12-14 hours. Out of curiosity I did check out the NHS advice on melatonin as I have been considering seeing my GP about this problem with my sleep pattern, or lack of it to be more accurate. Often I find it’s also the type of sleep, not necessarily the amount managed. There is some interesting information on the link I found, some of it may apply to you if you are interested:

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Thanks for the article. This explains why not many people have taken it.

In the US, it’s available everywhere, and it’s very inexpensive. Lots of people take it, especially people who travel a lot. It helps with jet lag.

Our regulations here are very strict, as you have read. That’s to protect us and in most cases, like melatonin and possible side-effects, it’s understandable. It was surprising to learn that melatonin is available without prescription in the US. Some while ago I heard about melatonin being used in the way you describe to combat jet lag, but put off doing anything. I dislike having to take medication and am already on more than I really want to be. My sleep problem is similar to jet lag, this at times has made me think about seeing my GP in the past but have not done so as yet. Now, having read about the side-effects, I am even more wary about it.
:thinking: :slightly_frowning_face:

Not to scare you off, but I’ve heard of side-effects for most sleep aids, particularly the bad dreams and night sweats. Dizziness makes sense since bad sleep would already cause that. Sleepiness in the daytime is the reason for the melatonin, so that one’s not surprising.

Not in tablet form, but my home is fitted with high lux full spectrum lamps and as such, my wife and I receive all the necessary melatonin from our house lighting. We get an all over very bright light bathing while we shower or take a bath and for the rest of the day, we absorb the light from the exposed parts of our bodies.
Below is a guide to healthy lighting:-
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