I have insomnia issues. I’ve tried Melatonin in the past with no effect, but my wife got me some gummies last week. So I’ve been taking the recommended 10mg, which I think is more than I’ve taken in the past, for the last 4 or 5 nights.
I don’t know if I’m actually falling asleep any better but the dreams have been great. Exceedingly rarely do I remember dreams but every night since I started taking it I’ve been experiencing dreams. I’m not sure what qualifies as vivid dreaming but having gone from no dreams to dreaming every night has been pretty interesting.
Melatonin is good until its not. Most of the doses of commonly available OTC melatonin are ineffective, which is why you might not have had a response previously. While it is not addicting, long term usage will impact your body’s ability to secrete in naturally. It can also have negative impacts on your immune system and metabolism.
You are going to be reading a lot about sleep and its role in health and mental health over the next few years. Common tools such as sleep measurement devices, sleep aides (such as weighted blankets) and even apps that help you go to sleep are now widely available at a much lower cost, and if used in combination can have a real impact on your sleep quality.
Good sleep starts with simple discipline around avoidance (alcohol, caffeine) and process discipline (going to sleep and getting up at the same time every night/day). Developing a sleep routine (often referred to as sleep hygiene) is the third leg of the stool. I’ve been tracking my sleep for about a year.
While I question the accuracy to some extent of the amount of sleep that is allocated to each sleep cycle (light, deep, REM) I think it is accurate enough to be predictive of how I will feel during the day and my cardiovascular response during exercise. It’s amazing how that third beer on a weekend impacts my sleep quality.
Melatonin is good until its not. Most of the doses of commonly available OTC melatonin are ineffective, which is why you might not have had a response previously. While it is not addicting, long term usage will impact your body’s ability to secrete in naturally. It can also have negative impacts on your immune system and metabolism.
You are going to be reading a lot about sleep and its role in health and mental health over the next few years. Common tools such as sleep measurement devices, sleep aides (such as weighted blankets) and even apps that help you go to sleep are now widely available at a much lower cost, and if used in combination can have a real impact on your sleep quality.
Good sleep starts with simple discipline around avoidance (alcohol, caffeine) and process discipline (going to sleep and getting up at the same time every night/day). Developing a sleep routine (often referred to as sleep hygiene) is the third leg of the stool. I’ve been tracking my sleep for about a year.
While I question the accuracy to some extent of the amount of sleep that is allocated to each sleep cycle (light, deep, REM) I think it is accurate enough to be predictive of how I will feel during the day and my cardiovascular response during exercise. It’s amazing how that third beer on a weekend impacts my sleep quality.
You can’t turn around now without reading something about sleep and health.
I’m screwed given that I never sleep more than 5 or 6 hours a night.
I already do all the sleep hygiene recommendations.
If you find the answer, let me know! I’m ecstatic if I get more than 6 hrs. Melatonin most nights but I’ve read that lower doses may be more effective so I’ve dropped down to 5mg and may go to 3mg. Weighted blanket, no caffeine after 9am, cut alcohol to almost nothing, sleep buds for white noise, no screens in bed, same bedtime, get up at the same time, no phone in room, etc.
I’ve added magnesium glycinate but so far no noticeable change.
I’ve suffered from varying degrees of insomnia over the last few years. I fall asleep very easily, but often wake up at 1-3am and I’m just… Up, and alert. Then I just fall in to this cycle of anxiety because I still feel exhausted, but I know I won’t be able to get back to sleep and my mind just spins from there. I will take an hour or so to fall back asleep but by that time my sleep is already screwed for the night. I do all the pre-bed sleep hygiene shit to no avail.
If I take a melatonin at night it usually helps me fall back asleep when I wake up. Weed does the same, just a puff or two before bed. I don’t like relying on either, though.
Nothing has made me feel and look like I’m aging quite like insomnia has. It’s a real bitch to wrestle with.
If you find the answer, let me know! I’m ecstatic if I get more than 6 hrs. Melatonin most nights but I’ve read that lower doses may be more effective so I’ve dropped down to 5mg and may go to 3mg. Weighted blanket, no caffeine after 9am, cut alcohol to almost nothing, sleep buds for white noise, no screens in bed, same bedtime, get up at the same time, no phone in room, etc.
I’ve added magnesium glycinate but so far no noticeable change.
Good luck!
I read about lower doses increasing efficacy and that’s why I stuck to low doses the couple of times I’ve tried Melatonin in the past. I honestly can’t say if it’s helping me fall asleep or not because most nights I fall asleep OK anyway.
I’ve suffered from varying degrees of insomnia over the last few years. I fall asleep very easily, but often wake up at 1-3am and I’m just… Up, and alert. Then I just fall in to this cycle of anxiety because I still feel exhausted, but I know I won’t be able to get back to sleep and my mind just spins from there. I will take an hour or so to fall back asleep but by that time my sleep is already screwed for the night. I do all the pre-bed sleep hygiene shit to no avail.
If I take a melatonin at night it usually helps me fall back asleep when I wake up. Weed does the same, just a puff or two before bed. I don’t like relying on either, though.
Nothing has made me feel and look like I’m aging quite like insomnia has. It’s a real bitch to wrestle with.
I use to always fall asleep easily at night, sleep like a rock for 5-6 hours , then wake up and, like you, I’m up. I use to fight it all the time and lay there and try to fall back asleep, almost always with no luck.
Now I have trouble falling asleep sometimes too, and anxiety then kicks in about not being able to sleep because I’ve had nights where I just never fall asleep. It’s like I have a window where I get drowsy and if I don’t take my shot to got to sleep then, I’m screwed for falling asleep that night.
I will say Ambien works like a charm. It does pretty consistently knock me out but I don’t sleep any longer, I still wake somewhere around 2am. And then most of the time it makes me feel like shit the next day, probably worse than if I just never slept that night. Although I’ve had times that I’ve taken it and felt fine the next day.
I don’t want to rely on drugs, so I’m careful to use the Ambien sparingly. Haven’t really given weed much of chance. My wife suggested trying the melatonin on a night I wake up early and see if it could help me fall back asleep.
The reason l ask is that the sleep issue that you have is often caused by caffeine. I would try a test of zero regular coffee and zero decaf and zero chocolate and zero tea and zero sources of other caffeine for 1 or 2 weeks. And see if this improved.
That is consistent with what the studies seem to show. Benzos and any other sleep agent we have had so far after a few weeks of use result in 30 min or so of extra sleep plus a dependence on them to get to sleep. From what I have read the lower doses of melatonin are better but I have no clear idea if melatonin works well for most people who use it.
Insomnia is a bitch. I have a lot of older ladies in my practice who have it bad. Many of them had many children. I think that having five or more kids results in easily a decade without regular sleep. I think that screws you up for a long time.
Insomnia is a bitch. I have a lot of older ladies in my practice who have it bad. Many of them had many children. I think that having five or more kids results in easily a decade without regular sleep. I think that screws you up for a long time.
I was always an early riser, but then I spent years working at UPS through college where work started around 3am. I went years going to school in the morning, sleeping a few hours in the afternoon, staying up to do things with friends until 10 or 11 at night and then getting up at 2:30 or so in the morning to get to work. I think I had some sort of chronic fatigue by the end of it.
Insomnia is a bitch. I have a lot of older ladies in my practice who have it bad. Many of them had many children. I think that having five or more kids results in easily a decade without regular sleep. I think that screws you up for a long time.
I think this is more along the lines of my issue as opposed to whatever caffeine I get from my one decaf morning coffee.
I used to be able to sleep through a war raging outside my window. Then we had our child, who didn’t sleep through the night consistently for close to 2 years. She would always wake up in full scream. Imagine having an alarm clock that goes off at random intervals next to you that sounds like a child screaming. I would be startled awake with my adrenaline pumping.
Now, I am very sensitive to noise at night. A creek of the bed, the dog repositioning herself etc wakes me up to that instant state of alertness.
We only have the one child, I couldn’t imagine doing that with multiples.
Insomnia is a bitch. I have a lot of older ladies in my practice who have it bad. Many of them had many children. I think that having five or more kids results in easily a decade without regular sleep. I think that screws you up for a long time.
I think this is more along the lines of my issue as opposed to whatever caffeine I get from my one decaf morning coffee.
I used to be able to sleep through a war raging outside my window. Then we had our child, who didn’t sleep through the night consistently for close to 2 years. She would always wake up in full scream. Imagine having an alarm clock that goes off at random intervals next to you that sounds like a child screaming. I would be startled awake with my adrenaline pumping.
Now, I am very sensitive to noise at night. A creek of the bed, the dog repositioning herself etc wakes me up to that instant state of alertness.
We only have the one child, I couldn’t imagine doing that with multiples.
Have you tried a white noise device? I use one, not so much for once I’m asleep but for when I’m falling asleep. I go to bed so early that there’s often plenty of noise in the house.
I don’t know if I’m actually falling asleep any better but the dreams have been great. Exceedingly rarely do I remember dreams but every night since I started taking it I’ve been experiencing dreams. I’m not sure what qualifies as vivid dreaming but having gone from no dreams to dreaming every night has been pretty interesting.
Insomnia is a bitch. I have a lot of older ladies in my practice who have it bad. Many of them had many children. I think that having five or more kids results in easily a decade without regular sleep. I think that screws you up for a long time.
I think this is more along the lines of my issue as opposed to whatever caffeine I get from my one decaf morning coffee.
I used to be able to sleep through a war raging outside my window. Then we had our child, who didn’t sleep through the night consistently for close to 2 years. She would always wake up in full scream. Imagine having an alarm clock that goes off at random intervals next to you that sounds like a child screaming. I would be startled awake with my adrenaline pumping.
Now, I am very sensitive to noise at night. A creek of the bed, the dog repositioning herself etc wakes me up to that instant state of alertness.
We only have the one child, I couldn’t imagine doing that with multiples.
Have you tried a white noise device? I use one, not so much for once I’m asleep but for when I’m falling asleep. I go to bed so early that there’s often plenty of noise in the house.
I use a white noise device, eye blinders, and got to bed at same time every night. It works well for me but sleep problems are obviously complicated.