Melatonin

[tlewis303]

Best time to take this OTC? I'm trying 3mg around 10pm but still feel groggy in am. Dr says to take after dinner but I'm afraid I will feel sleepy in the early evening.
Anyone have success with this for helping them sleep solid through the night while on cpap?

[MbMinx]

*listening*

I've used melatonin on and off, but I've never figured out the "right" time to take it. I'm either sleepy way too early or groggy in the morning. Looking forward to hearing from people with good results.

[JeffH]

I take 1mg at 9:30 and don't feel groggy in the morning. I think this is one of those things that a little is plenty. Walgreen's sells 1mg bottles.

JeffH

[tlewis303]

Does it help with more solid sleep?

[Krelvin]

Melatonin will not make you sleep all night, it triggers your body to get sleepy like it naturally does when it starts to get dark.

Recent studies show the amount needed is typically around .5mg. More is not necessarily better and can actually cause problems.

Using during the day in a room with light might cause some problems as well. It is not a sleep aid actually but a hormone that your own body normally creates.

Should be taken 15-20 mins before you goto bed.

Should not be taken more than 20 Days in a row or less.

You can find this same info by searching Google for it, make sure you are reading recent articles as info about it has changed over the past year due to results of studies.

Mayo clinic has a number of articles about it.

[LSAT]

I take one half of a 3mg tablet every night about 10PM. As another poster said...it helps me fall asleep, but I don't stay asleep all night. I am not sleepy in the AM.

[tlewis303]

I never have any problem falling asleep its just staying in a deep sleep thats the problem so I guess this isn't the answer?

[Cdburkhart]

Melatonin worked for me about 20 minutes in a dim room, but gave me terrible nightmares and it cuased more incidents of sleep paralysis.

Valerian root was less effective in getting me to sleep, but decresed the nightmare. So take that for what you will.

[Sir NoddinOff]

Valerian is not a great solution for my sleep needs, but of course everybody is different in their results, just like any drug. Sometimes if I'm anxious or not too sleepy I will take some valerian in conjunction with an ambien (which I only occasionally take).

Here's one trick I do with melatonin to avoid the when-to-take it issue. First I buy only sublinqual (under the tongue) pills. See link below. I only take about 0.5 mg TOTAL PER NIGHT... however what I do is cut the 1 mg pill in half...that 0.5 mg chunk is again roughly cut into two 0.25mg pieces. I put one piece under my tongue about 45 minutes before my planned bedtime. Later when I putting on my mask and getting ready to fall asleep, I pop the last little piece under my tongue. I've been doing this for about six months and it seems to work for me. The brand I use is not made with sugar so no worries about tooth decay. Here's the brand link:

http://www.amazon.com/Source-Naturals-M ... B00020I6YK

[TyroneShoes]

I don't think its that critical when you take it.

I would take it as soon as the sun goes down, and also after all driving is done for the day. So if you are in for the night, you can take it as soon as the sun goes down. That way you do not have daylight cues fighting with night-light cues (assuming you are not glued to a blue computer screen all night). And that is the only real problem is confusing the body by taking it too early, such as when there are still daylight cues in your environment.

From the point of view of common sense,if that makes you too sleepy to stay up until your normal bedtime, then take it later. Do what works. Take the minimum that works. Once on it for a while, take a "drug holiday" to see if you really needed it. If it is ineffective, stop taking it. Any way you look at it, even from the standpoint of managing your hormonal cycle, you are still tinkering, messing with your hormonal cycle, so unless you find it helpful, get it out of your system.

I have never heard it as an effective way to fix the 3 AM wakeup syndrome, but if it works, it works. If not, stop trying to make it do what it won't do for you.

If you have depression issues, stay away from it.

[Sir NoddinOff]

I have never heard it as an effective way to fix the 3 AM wakeup syndrome, but if it works, it works. If not, stop trying to make it do what it won't do for you.

This is correct, IMO, it is worthless as a cure for sleep maintenance problems, or at least so I've found over the years. I guess it wouldn't hurt to test it like that... again, everybody is different in their reactions to drugs. Drug holidays are a good thing to try as long as you consult your doctor first. For instance you don't want to see diabetics attempt drug holidays Not that that was what Tyrone was suggesting.

[Woody]

Something along the same lines to play with is a change in your night time lighting. Some people
believe all the artificial light especially blue light we have at night is suppressing our natural production
of meletonin. Recently I have started just using the older incandescent lights at night instead of the newer
florescent bulbs and using the F.lux program on my computer to turn the color temperature of my monitor
down at night. I am hopeing it will help get my sleeping cycle back to normal. https://justgetflux.com/

[Sir NoddinOff]

Something along the same lines to play with is a change in your night time lighting. Some people
believe all the artificial light especially blue light we have at night is suppressing our natural production
of meletonin. Recently I have started just using the older incandescent lights at night instead of the newer
florescent bulbs and using the F.lux program on my computer to turn the color temperature of my monitor
down at night. I am hoping it will help get my sleeping cycle back to normal. https://justgetflux.com/

All good ideas. I'm kind of low tech regarding my approach to lamp color in the bedroom. I have an old red pair of jockey shorts I put over the florescent desk-lamp next to my bed. It cuts the light emitted by about 90%, plus the red glow is warm and comforting... anyway, it's handy to deploy my 'red sleep boxers' fifteen minutes before I hit the sack, eg. while setting up my mask, machine, covers etc. The neighbors probably think I'm running a bordello, but who cares what they think.

I think I'll check out the F.lux program, sounds like a good solution to nighttime use of my laptop.

[RogerSC]

Been using the f.lux thing for some time now. It is more relaxing for the eyes before bed...it turns to night time mode at the sunset time that it has for your location and changes throughout the year appropriately. Like it.

[Tatooed Lady]

I tried melatonin some years back. Took the smallest dosage I could find at GNC...1mg? I liked it...it seemed to help me settle in for bed. I was careful when taking it, though, because if I recall correctly, it states on the bottle that you should take it only if you plan to have 8 hours of downtime...not like you need to wake up after 5 hours of sleep...I think I even woke up rather groggy a couple times. I wonder now if that had to do with undiagnosed OSA made worse by the relaxing muscles?