Melatonin?

[Bradley Gish]

Jordan,

This question does not pertain to nutrition but to the dietary supplement melatonin. I suffer from frequent bouts of insomnia; whereas I have trouble falling to sleep, or at times staying asleep. I have a somewhat physical job and train hard regularly, so this is very detrimental to me. A friend of mine recommended that I try melatonin. I did, and it does help. I also might add that I get the desired REM dreamy sleep when taking it. Thing is, I've been using it for over a couple of months now and it's beginning to make me feel kind of drowsy or sluggish during the morning hours. I've cut my dosage back significantly, but I'm still experiencing some of these adverse side effects. From what I understand melatonin is designed for short term use in order to get the natural sleep cycle back regulated. In my case, I've become somewhat dependent on it in order to get my ever so desired rest. Is it safe to use this supplement long term?

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

From what we know based in the medical literature, melatonin is safe to use long term (as it should be considering the amount your pineal gland pumps out daily). We also have data showing that smaller doses tend to work "better" than large doses of melatonin, but to be honest- the average decrease in the time it takes you to fall asleep with melatonin is a few minutes. That's not to say that it doesn't "work" in some people, just that it's probably not the first line treatment I'd reach for. That would be sleep hygiene improvement

[Bestafter60]

I read about melatonin's benefits in terms of antioxidants and sleep improvement. Don't know how to substantiate the former, but OMG is it great for sleeping! I now sleep deeply, dream vividly, and wake up with a groggy confidence that I'm fully rested and can handle anything. I did not have trouble falling asleep prior to this, and when I drink too much before falling asleep I still wake up a couple of times during the night to pee. I think melatonin helps me sleep longer and better and is useful in supporting my lifting.

[quad]

I have experience with melatonin. I think the biggest mistake is using melatonin as a sleeping pill and using it long term. You need to take it everyday at the same time for a while and you need to figure out at what time depending on how delayed is your sleep phase; if you feel drowsy you might need to take it earlier in the evening.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

I have experience with melatonin. I think the biggest mistake is using melatonin as a sleeping pill and using it long term. You need to take it everyday at the same time for a while and you need to figure out at what time depending on how delayed is your sleep phase; if you feel drowsy you might need to take it earlier in the evening.

It's half life is like 90 minutes as I recall, so unlikely that the melatonin is causing daytime drowsiness like a benadryl would.

[quad]

It's half life is like 90 minutes as I recall, so unlikely that the melatonin is causing daytime drowsiness like a benadryl would.

I'm not a doctor but couldn't the drowsiness be caused by the shift in circadian rhythm caused by the synthetic melatonin ingestion (not by the synthetic melatonin itself)?

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

I'm not a doctor but couldn't the drowsiness be caused by the shift in circadian rhythm caused by the synthetic melatonin ingestion (not by the synthetic melatonin itself)?

How would shifting the circadian rhythm forward by a small dose of melatonin (compared to what the gland pumps out) make someone drowsy in the AM when they should, theoretically, be MORE awake?

[Jonathon Sullivan]

I read about melatonin's benefits in terms of antioxidants and sleep improvement. Don't know how to substantiate the former, but OMG is it great for sleeping! I now sleep deeply, dream vividly, and wake up with a groggy confidence that I'm fully rested and can handle anything. I did not have trouble falling asleep prior to this, and when I drink too much before falling asleep I still wake up a couple of times during the night to pee. I think melatonin helps me sleep longer and better and is useful in supporting my lifting.

This is my experience as well. Melatonin is My Friend.

It should be pointed out, however, that I had my circadian rhythm surgically removed in medical school. So YMMV.

(Hey Jordan: have you had your circadiectomy yet?

[tnumrych]

I've been experimenting with various supplements recently in an effort to improve my sleep latency and quality (besides the sleep hygiene stuff). I've tried lemon balm, Calm Aid (lavender oil), melatonin and glycine. I don't have enough data data to make a judgement on quality yet. But I'm curious Jordan what your opinion is on all those, especially glycine.

[quad]

How would shifting the circadian rhythm forward by a small dose of melatonin (compared to what the gland pumps out) make someone drowsy in the AM when they should, theoretically, be MORE awake?

I don't know but I have felt drowsy before taking melatonin and the drowsiness disappeared taking it 2 hours earlier, so this is my n=1.
I understand but one should be more awake in the morning with a healthy physiological sleep cycle, my uneducated guess is that if supplementing with melatonin works in order to return one's sleep cycle to normal, if taken incorrectly can also disrupt it. I don't know the effect of supplemented melatonin on pineal gland's melatonin production, but it must be there because if I take just a 0.5 mg pill too early I wake up in the night without being able to fall asleep so it must do something to modify the natural circadian rhythm.