Melatonin - Low-Dose For Sleep

[DaveFoster]

Has anyone successfully used a lower dose of melatonin (300 mcg or so) to positively impact their circadian rhythm?

I'm sitting here at 12:15, and I wish I was tired. I'm trying to go to bed before 11 AM every night.

I know Ray advises against melatonin, as he predicts that it shrinks the sex organs.

I remember him saying in an interview that >1 mg is probably okay.

 

[BobbyDukes]

I also agree, re: melatonin.

It's way more stressful to your body being up at all hours, because you can't wind down. Once you're asleep, and you're 'out', that's supposed to be protective against the stress of darkness. So feeling tired as soon as darkness falls is the way things should be, IMO.

I used to take melatonin alongside my SSRI medication, and it worked very well at conking me out. I can't remember why I stopped taking it now.

Just don't go with the timed release version. I felt it's affects for the following 24 hours (mind crushing depression), and like a anti-histamine overdose, it meant I had to write off the entire following day.

I think I was taking 3mg. Felt no grogginess the following mornings. Timed release though (in a high enough dose), will hit you like a freight train.

 

[DaveFoster]

@BobbyDukes

Thanks for the input, Bobby.

I ordered some 300 mcg, which is supposed to be better at sleep-induction than the 3 mg, but the bioavailibity is between 15-20% IIRC correctly, so you're getting at most 600 mcg from a 3 mg tablet.

 

[Dan W]

I take 300mcg. It seems to offset the effects of using bright light right up until bed.

 

[Bahaa El wazzan]

Stay away from it.. take a walk
...
For 40 minutes ... walk slowly.

I tried that it's awesome ... u get back ready to sleep ...

When I don't eat well enough during the day I don't get good sleep though .

 

[sprinter]

Why does darkness have to be so stressful for?

 

[Lecarpetron]

Yep, I took 300 mcg for years and it did help. I had to take it by 6pm to get sleepy by 10 or 11. It's not a sledgehammer like xanax or unisom, but still effective. Anything over 300 mcg would have the opposite effect on me.

 

[DaveFoster]

I take 300mcg. It seems to offset the effects of using bright light right up until bed.

That's what I do as well; 10,000 LUX light w/ 2 red lights. Cutting the former out by 6 PM with blue light-blocking glasses helps somewhat, but the red light still delays the serotonin-induced tiredness.

When I don't eat well enough during the day I don't get good sleep though .

I've noticed this as well.

Why does darkness have to be so stressful for?

Elevations in serotonin, estrogen, and cortisol, I believe.

Yep, I took 300 mcg for years and it did help. I had to take it by 6pm to get sleepy by 10 or 11. It's not a sledgehammer like xanax or unisom, but still effective. Anything over 300 mcg would have the opposite effect on me.

Nice; I've noticed that dyphenhydramine is more potent than cyproheptadine for sleep, but the former gives a lot of people serotonergic/adrenergic sides.

 

[tomisonbottom]

@BobbyDukes

Thanks for the input, Bobby.

I ordered some 300 mcg, which is supposed to be better at sleep-induction than the 3 mg, but the bioavailibity is between 15-20% IIRC correctly, so you're getting at most 600 mcg from a 3 mg tablet.

Curious if you're still doing this, Dave? Or if not, what you're doing for sleep?

 

[DaveFoster]

Curious if you're still doing this, Dave? Or if not, what you're doing for sleep?

I do it for sleep when I have an appointment the next morning. My body prefers a 2 AM bedtime, but this lets me go to bed at midnight or a little after.

Mirtazapine is pretty good for sleep as well, and progesterone can knock some people out.