Melatonin as sleep aid

[Luna-]

My psychiatrist told me about this. Here's an article about it:

Melatonin as a "greener" sleep aid

by Alicia Sparks

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been trying melatonin as a sleep aid – not every night, mind you, but here and there.

You probably have a working knowledge of melatonin. It’s the hormone your brain’s pineal gland produces at night, when it’s dark and your body needs rest. Thus, melatonin helps your body know the difference between day and night and lends a hand with your circadian timing and sleep cycles.

Read the rest of the article here: Melatonin as a "greener" sleep aid?

[chatterbox512]

My husband has been telling me about this also. Have you tried it? Does it work for you?

The article sounds good for those who want to try it.

[Luna-]

I haven't tried it, but I plan to now. I will report back on how it works out!

My psychiatrist recommended it for my daughter who was struggling to sleep. She said something else: that melatonin is inactivated by light, so it must be kept in a dark place. She said this point doesn't seem to get stressed enough.

[Nessie]

I have used melatonin off and on in the past. It seems to work but lately I've stayed away from it, not because I had any side effects that I could tell but I've heard pro's and con's of using it.

The con's being that it's a hormone and it can mess with your bodies ability to produce it...the pineal gland reduces production of it since you are getting it through dietary means.

In general, I wish it were easier to find conclusive health information on the internet but might be something to investigate and formulate your own opinion if you haven't already.

Or if a trusted medical professional is suggesting it, hopefully they've done their homework!

Stay safe!

[Guest GingerSnap]

I researched this a few years ago before giving it to my son who has Down syndrome. People with Down syndrome do not produce enough melatonin for some reason and as you age, production decreases. But, what I learned was that with doses of 3 mg (what ever those over the counter standard measure is, I think mg), there was no danger noted and that amount could actually shrink unknown tumors but with doses over 3 mg. they saw an increase in tumor grown so the recommendation was never to take over 3 mg. I give it to my son more to reset his inter time clock. I did notice that they are now selling 5 mg doses. I also found that a liquid or a tea worked better than the over-the-counter pills. Too often people misjudge over-the-counter drugs to not be dangerous thereby feeling that the amount will not hurt them. Please do your homework on this and read several opinions. More is not better in many cases. I think, also, that now the medical community tends to suggest less expensive solutions based more on what the insurance companies want than anything else. We practice herbal and homeopathic medicine only at our house but commonsense must prevail!

[Luna-]

Thanks for the input.

I bought some, but I don't think I can give a meaningful account. At the time I was going off one of my meds, leaving me sleepless. Since then I have gone back on the med, which is sedating so I can't tell what is causing what. I have only taken 2 or 3 anyway.

My tablets are slow-release 3mg and the recommendations are 1.5 to 3mg at a time.

Maybe one just shouldn't take them regularly?