Niacinamide and sleep disruption

[ivy]

Inspired by several people in the forum who reported melasma improvements with niacinamide, I gave it a try. I took a 500gm capsule before bed and experienced a much higher heart rate than usual, and total inability to fall asleep. I had to drink some milk before I managed to calm dow. Now, many here praise niacinimide's calming and even sedating effects, what should I think of my own experience? In the morning, despite my noticeable dark circles, my skin looked brighter. Is this too high a dose for me? Any thought are welcome, thank you!

 

[supercoolguy]

What does the label read on the bottle, what type of Niacin?
Have you tried the Just the Milk before bed?
The calories & Calcium seems to help me sleep, and many times Coffee w/a carbohydrate source has helped.
Dark Roast Italian Coffee contains good amounts of Niacin.
Maybe Take 1/2 the capsule, with the milk and see what happens.

Hope that generates some insights.

 

[reality]

I think niacinamide can raise histamine through methyl group depletion

 

[ivy]

Now Foods Niacinamide 500mg (Energy Production*)

Coffee doesn't speed me up like this, but I've probably built some tolerance to it after years of regular ingestion. If Niacinamide can go either way, I find it weird that only one member expressed a similar discomfort - still around @sladerunner69 ?

I should probably try this after lunch to be on the safe side.

 

[khan]

Inspired by several people in the forum who reported melasma improvements with niacinamide, I gave it a try. I took a 500gm capsule before bed and experienced a much higher heart rate than usual, and total inability to fall asleep. I had to drink some milk before I managed to calm dow. Now, many here praise niacinimide's calming and even sedating effects, what should I think of my own experience? In the morning, despite my noticeable dark circles, my skin looked brighter. Is this too high a dose for me? Any thought are welcome, thank you!

It's a morning supplement. For night you should have tried niacin not niacinamide.

 

[ivy]

It's a morning supplement. For night you should have tried niacin not niacinamide.

Thanks.

 

[Jonk]

Niacinamide is a powerful supplement in high doses, and Ray adviced keeping it somewhere around 100mg/dose several times a day. For me it's important to eat plenty of carbs beforehand, like a big bowl of rice for example, and taking the niacinamide with a big dose of magnesium. Just today I've taken 4,5 grams without any problems.

 

[Happycat]

Inspired by several people in the forum who reported melasma improvements with niacinamide, I gave it a try. I took a 500gm capsule before bed and experienced a much higher heart rate than usual, and total inability to fall asleep. I had to drink some milk before I managed to calm dow. Now, many here praise niacinimide's calming and even sedating effects, what should I think of my own experience? In the morning, despite my noticeable dark circles, my skin looked brighter. Is this too high a dose for me? Any thought are welcome, thank you!

I also bought a lot of niacinamide to try, precisely for my melasma, as I heard that about 3g a day can improve it. But I haven't managed to take more than 1.5g per day. It doesn't disrupt my sleep, but I have had some digestion issues.. possibly unrelated and it needs a lot of sugar with it otherwise it makes me a bit shakey.
3g a day seems like a huge amount, I wonder if it would do any damage if taken daily for a few weeks?

 

[ivy]

I also bought a lot of niacinamide to try, precisely for my melasma, as I heard that about 3g a day can improve it. But I haven't managed to take more than 1.5g per day. It doesn't disrupt my sleep, but I have had some digestion issues.. possibly unrelated and it needs a lot of sugar with it otherwise it makes me a bit shakey.
3g a day seems like a huge amount, I wonder if it would do any damage if taken daily for a few weeks?

Considering the responses I got, 500mg is already thought of as a big dose and shouldn't be taken in one sitting. Digestive issues are enough of a symptom. If you haven't seen any improvements, maybe you could combine oral and topical and see where it leads

 

[mostlylurking]

Inspired by several people in the forum who reported melasma improvements with niacinamide, I gave it a try. I took a 500gm capsule before bed and experienced a much higher heart rate than usual, and total inability to fall asleep. I had to drink some milk before I managed to calm dow. Now, many here praise niacinimide's calming and even sedating effects, what should I think of my own experience? In the morning, despite my noticeable dark circles, my skin looked brighter. Is this too high a dose for me? Any thought are welcome, thank you!

I take about 90mg, 4Xday. That's it. It helped me to lose about 30 pounds over a period of about 4 months. I wasn't trying to lose weight; but I felt better so I was moving around outside more. When I was taking 200mg 2Xday I didn't experience as good a benefit. It is a water soluble vitamin so it only stays around for about 2 hours. Small doses, around 2 hours apart is good.

Here's a collection of Ray Peat quotes on niacinamide:

Ray Peat, PhD Quotes on Therapeutic Effects of Niacinamide – Functional Performance Systems (FPS)

 

[Happycat]

Considering the responses I got, 500mg is already thought of as a big dose and shouldn't be taken in one sitting. Digestive issues are enough of a symptom. If you haven't seen any improvements, maybe you could combine oral and topical and see where it leads

Yes I know 500mg is considered a high dose in one go.
How much were you intending to take per day in order to improve melasma?
I read Georgi and Kate Deering mentioning the 3g, but I don't think I can ever take that much.

 

[youngsinatra]

I used to get the insomnia/bad sleep from it as well in the past. I think it’s depleting methyl groups and thus raise histamine/acetylcholine which promote wakefulness, especially in individuals that are prone to higher baseline leves of histamine.

I used to take the same amount of TMG (a methyl donor) as the niacinamide (1:1) and it put me to sleep in 10-15min.

I don’t use niacinamide at all anymore.

 

[ivy]

I take about 90mg, 4Xday. That's it. It helped me to lose about 30 pounds over a period of about 4 months. I wasn't trying to lose weight; but I felt better so I was moving around outside more. When I was taking 200mg 2Xday I didn't experience as good a benefit. It is a water soluble vitamin so it only stays around for about 2 hours. Small doses, around 2 hours apart is good.

Here's a collection of Ray Peat quotes on niacinamide:

Ray Peat, PhD Quotes on Therapeutic Effects of Niacinamide – Functional Performance Systems (FPS)

I have no wish to lose any relevant weight, I'll be watching for that. Thanks for the quotes!

 

[ivy]

Yes I know 500mg is considered a high dose in one go.
How much were you intending to take per day in order to improve melasma?
I read Georgi and Kate Deering mentioning the 3g, but I don't think I can ever take that much.

I will continue with 500mg daily for a month and then assess. Taken at lunch or breakfast, I feel no different than what I feel with coffee alone, so it seems to be relatively safe.

I'm weary of self-medicating with supplements and this experiment was enough for me not to venture into higher doses. My only wish is to recover some resilience in my facial skin. In the last few years, with rosacea (as of 2020) and now melasma (as of March), being in the sun has become increasingly difficult. Alas, I might just have to be completely strict with fats and add topical niacinamide. A relevant Peat quote from the post that @mostlylurking shared:

“In the same way that topical lactate can cause vasodilatation and disturbed energy metabolism (Rnedle, et al., 2001), topical niacinamide, progesterone, vitamin K, and coenzyme Q10 can improve the metabolism and function of the local tissues.”

 

[FitnessMike]

I used to get the insomnia/bad sleep from it as well in the past. I think it’s depleting methyl groups and thus raise histamine/acetylcholine which promote wakefulness, especially in individuals that are prone to higher baseline leves of histamine.

I used to take the same amount of TMG (a methyl donor) as the niacinamide (1:1) and it put me to sleep in 10-15min.

I don’t use niacinamide at all anymore.

Same, TMG put me back to sleep but other sides came up, not worth it.

 

[mostlylurking]

I have no wish to lose any relevant weight, I'll be watching for that. Thanks for the quotes!

This was the weight that I had packed on in about 30 days when my thiamine function got blocked after taking Bactrim antibiotic. I got better/well via high dose thiamine hcl. However, I did not lose that weight until I changed my niacinamide dosing. I was delighted to have lost the weight after hauling it around with me for 18 months or so.