Anyone ever used melatonin for sleep?
- Thread starter Crynos
- Start date
- Status
Ambien.
Best case scenario: Asleep in 20 minutes or less.
Worst case scenario: Stay awake and trip your balls off.
Win/Win if you ask me.
Best case scenario: Asleep in 20 minutes or less.
Worst case scenario: Stay awake and trip your balls off.
Win/Win if you ask me.
I second chamomille tea. That and kava kava are good for chilling out
Quality sleep is an indication of balance within the body.
Sleep aids work in different ways, sometimes combinations prove best.
I have found that while melatonin is good for falling asleep it often lingers the next morning, especially if you have nochieve a sleep duration of 7-8 hours.
If falling asleep is difficult, a combination of daytime excersize and a natural sleep aid can help set in motion an effective sleep pattern.
Three items I have found very useful for dealing with sleep problems:
Magnesium: Often over looked this relatively cheap vitamin is an amazing muscle relaxant, also critical for neromuscluar function.
5HTP or 5 Hydroxy Trypophan is a Seratonin precurser. Seratonin is a critical neurotransmitter chemical that is responsible for mood, sleep function, motor controls, cognitive thought processes - can be low due to lack of sleep, poor diet, lack of sunlight, and not excersizing enough. Healthy lifestyle = abundance of this in the brain.
Melatonin - Hormone that helps initiate sleep, sedative effect and often give the Melatonin hangover, try 3mg to start and work your way up, combine with 5htp for deeper sleep.
Chamomile Tea - Age old sleep aid, the tea is great. Can also use the tea bags for bringing down inflammation on skin as chamimile has anti inflammatory characteristics.
Valerian Root - Herbal based Sedative. Wonderfully potent. Once again don't over do it.
My back ground is a lifestyle/nutritional consultant.
I am always available to answer questions from affilaites or otherwise as it's my true calling, though affilaite management and marketing is a lot of fun!!!!!!!
Anyways hope that helped: I left the sleep aids behind after I changed my eating habits and started body building. I sleep deeper than ever!
Take it for what it's worth...
I have a doctorate in psychology, so although this isn't substituting for "real medical advice" (which, you know, you should see your doctor about), here's my thoughts if you are interested.
I'm going to assume you don't know this stuff...so bear with me if you do:
Your body has natural rhythms...called circadian rhythms that we cycle through every 24 hours. We have periods of great energy, and other times we can barely keep our eyes open....and fall into sleep. Melatonin plays an important part in this. It's really a hormone that is naturally released by the pineal gland as it becomes dark outside (usually that's the cue) so that your body can fall into sleep and engage in the normal sleep/wake cycles to recover from the day. As light hits your retina (often through your lids), your body slows its secretion of this hormone. You'll wake up even if you don't have that light, but the light makes it easier - an interesting neurological phenomena. Well, to nerds like me it is.
As for Melatonin, It's been fairly effective in treating people with chronic insomnia. However, it is also largely unregulated. So although I'm sure you're a smart guy, if you are going to take this route, I'd see someone who works with natural medicines or herbalist, etc..someone who can direct you as to dosage and when to take it. Traditional psychiatrists are usually not so keen on herbal substances. Also, I'd be sure what you purchase in a store is by a company that uses third-party testing labs for verification of purity/substance. The vitamin/herbal market are not government regulated and often supplements don't contain what they say they do. Someplace like GNC states that they use labs that test independently.
I've seen a few people talk about Ambien, and I wouldn't really recommend any sleeping medications until you really think it through, and consult someone. They are meant too be taken short-term, can be addictive, etc. Also, they're pretty specific...do you have problems "staying asleep" or "falling asleep" or both? In the case of Ambien, it would definitely help people to fall asleep, but unless the extended release version is prescribed, you'd likely wake up in a few hours restless and irritable (if "staying asleep" was the issue). Either way, you'd want a thorough evaluation by a specialist, not just your general family doctor giving you this stuff. An evaluation for a sleeping med would take about 45-min if done properly, and is usually done by a psychiatrist. Not because you have psychological problems, but because the key elements of sleep take place in the brain. You don't want your family doctor doing a kidney transplant, and likely you want a specialist here also.
So, with all of this being said, if you have problems sleeping...and you've had them for a while...you can really go a few routes. 1. see a psychiatrist 2. see an herbalist/natural medicine person 3. Get evaluated at a center that specializes in sleep disorders. Often times they will actually have you go there, hook you up to a few monitors, and see what's going on at night. They usually have a plethora of specialists that can help you.
Sleeping problems can be really difficult because they make it hard to function when you need to be at your best. However, be sure you are doing everything in your own power to help yourself...are you drinking caffeine? are you taking naps? (I know that sounds silly, but I've definitely known of this happening), etc...
Best of luck. Feel free to send me a message if I can be of any assistance.
I have a doctorate in psychology, so although this isn't substituting for "real medical advice" (which, you know, you should see your doctor about), here's my thoughts if you are interested.
I'm going to assume you don't know this stuff...so bear with me if you do:
Your body has natural rhythms...called circadian rhythms that we cycle through every 24 hours. We have periods of great energy, and other times we can barely keep our eyes open....and fall into sleep. Melatonin plays an important part in this. It's really a hormone that is naturally released by the pineal gland as it becomes dark outside (usually that's the cue) so that your body can fall into sleep and engage in the normal sleep/wake cycles to recover from the day. As light hits your retina (often through your lids), your body slows its secretion of this hormone. You'll wake up even if you don't have that light, but the light makes it easier - an interesting neurological phenomena. Well, to nerds like me it is.
As for Melatonin, It's been fairly effective in treating people with chronic insomnia. However, it is also largely unregulated. So although I'm sure you're a smart guy, if you are going to take this route, I'd see someone who works with natural medicines or herbalist, etc..someone who can direct you as to dosage and when to take it. Traditional psychiatrists are usually not so keen on herbal substances. Also, I'd be sure what you purchase in a store is by a company that uses third-party testing labs for verification of purity/substance. The vitamin/herbal market are not government regulated and often supplements don't contain what they say they do. Someplace like GNC states that they use labs that test independently.
I've seen a few people talk about Ambien, and I wouldn't really recommend any sleeping medications until you really think it through, and consult someone. They are meant too be taken short-term, can be addictive, etc. Also, they're pretty specific...do you have problems "staying asleep" or "falling asleep" or both? In the case of Ambien, it would definitely help people to fall asleep, but unless the extended release version is prescribed, you'd likely wake up in a few hours restless and irritable (if "staying asleep" was the issue). Either way, you'd want a thorough evaluation by a specialist, not just your general family doctor giving you this stuff. An evaluation for a sleeping med would take about 45-min if done properly, and is usually done by a psychiatrist. Not because you have psychological problems, but because the key elements of sleep take place in the brain. You don't want your family doctor doing a kidney transplant, and likely you want a specialist here also.
So, with all of this being said, if you have problems sleeping...and you've had them for a while...you can really go a few routes. 1. see a psychiatrist 2. see an herbalist/natural medicine person 3. Get evaluated at a center that specializes in sleep disorders. Often times they will actually have you go there, hook you up to a few monitors, and see what's going on at night. They usually have a plethora of specialists that can help you.
Sleeping problems can be really difficult because they make it hard to function when you need to be at your best. However, be sure you are doing everything in your own power to help yourself...are you drinking caffeine? are you taking naps? (I know that sounds silly, but I've definitely known of this happening), etc...
Best of luck. Feel free to send me a message if I can be of any assistance.
Bodybuilding.com - The Future Of Bodybuilding! Huge Bodybuilding Site. would be a good place to order.
I used to take a muscle building supplement which had melatonin in it and I can tell you it works!
I got home about 20mins after gym, 5mins later I was knocked out on the sofa! Didn't get up till the next morning. Got about 14-16 hours sleep.
It works and it isn't that pricey.
I used to take a muscle building supplement which had melatonin in it and I can tell you it works!
I got home about 20mins after gym, 5mins later I was knocked out on the sofa! Didn't get up till the next morning. Got about 14-16 hours sleep.
It works and it isn't that pricey.
Tried 9mg of melatonin last night. I guess it worked ok but I kept waking up every few hours in a daze.
9mg of melatonin would knock me out for about 24 hrs straight. I take 3mg sometimes and its ok but the next day I'm dragging ass and can't get anything done. Valium is really where it's at.
When I use melatonin, I always seem to wake up tired (even if I get well over 8 hours of sleep) and with my mouth extremely dry + feeling dehydrated. It does help you fall asleep though
Yep, herbal capsules. They also come in an extract. I like them better than melatonin as they don't make me feel groggy if I get up early.
Valerian is rather cheap (Kroger, CVS, etc $5 to $10/bottle) but don't underestimate them. I believe some of the Chamomile teas (ie: 'Sleepytime Tea') might have some traces of Valerian in them. I like the fuzzy buzz feeling they give me right before they put me under.
Sure does, might as well quit while you're ahead and run for the hills - get out while you still can!
Just ordered a small bottle of this for experimenting:
Liquid Extract - Calea Zacatechichi (1 oz)
Anyone tried it before ?
Liquid Extract - Calea Zacatechichi (1 oz)
Anyone tried it before ?
Try more natural things to fall asleep. Any drugs are habit forming. Try relaxing for a half hour in a comfortable chair with the lights low before sleep.
Try reducing lights at night time to clue your body into the fact that it is nighttime.
If you need something try more exercise earlier in the day especially to tire out your muscles.
Then maybe Chamomile Tea or ornithine. But really should not need drugs, plus they have an expense and may make you wake up tired.
Try reducing lights at night time to clue your body into the fact that it is nighttime.
If you need something try more exercise earlier in the day especially to tire out your muscles.
Then maybe Chamomile Tea or ornithine. But really should not need drugs, plus they have an expense and may make you wake up tired.
- Status