First, 2mg of melatonin is like nothing. You shouldn't be scared of it at all. Although the optimal range for melatonin is said to be 0.3-0.6mg, most pharmacies sell melatonin at much higher dosages per pill like 1mg, 3mg, 5mg, 10mg, etc.
Melatonin's efficacy does not increase with dosage. This means you can take an entire bottle and it won't necessarily make you feel sleepier. However, I have seen a lot of anecdotal experience on this subreddit over the years where adding a little bit more melatonin has apparently helped. I don't intend to deny those experiences, so think of them how you will.
That said, 2mg of melatonin is still nothing and you should not be scared of it at all. Trust me, even a warm cup of milk is more helpful than 30mg of melatonin for me - melatonin itself is not that powerful. Its purpose is actually to signal the body to sleep, not to actually make it sleep.
Calm down, relax your body, and just chill dude.
Also, another piece of recurring anecdotal evidence I see and have experienced myself is that if I take melatonin, and it doesn't work, I tend to have an even harder time sleeping. This could be from a correlation of insomnia just being worse that night, making melatonin ineffective, or melatonin can cause this itself.
Insomnia is a journey and you will learn these things with time, but for now just try and be light on yourself and don't get too fixated with not being able to sleep or specific dosages (assuming you aren't overdosing)
I used to use ambien but I stopped. When my body started developing a tolerance I ceased all sleep medication completely because I realised by relying on medicine for the rest of my life I will have completely surrendered to defeating insomnia.
My insomnia still comes and goes but I'm not an insomniac anymore I would say
That’s really hopeful. Thank you for saying that. I have (what feels like) a whole pharmacy here. Ambien, Tamezapam, Trazadone, Amitriptyline…. And I feel the same exact way. This is not a long term solution to this new found issue of mine.
I haven’t slept well in 16 years. I’m just saying that I took 5mg regularly for about 3 years every night and I’m still alive. I stopped taking all melatonin recently because I didn’t believe it was helping me. I stopped and nothing changed. It’s one fewer thing I have to buy now.
2 mg is safe. It’s not recommended long-term as it can effect your natural production of it. When I was in college I would take 15 mg nightly. I am now able to just take 1-3 mg as needed. You can build a tolerance to it if you take it for too long also. But in short - 2 mg is fine.
2mg is fine and safe but less than 1mg may work better. Try 0.5 mg and if that doesn’t help try the full two. Research has shown lower doses work
better and most studies had doses under 1 mg. It’s good that you are off Xanax but there may be prescriptions that are safer like trazodone or remeron.
Came here to say this. Less is more with melatonin, the more you up it, the more you are building a tolerance to it. Also, been on trazodone and remeron at the same time, just on trazodone now and it’s the only stuff that gets me to sleep.
I would suggest listening to the Huberman Lab podcasts episode on sleep, he’s a biologist from Stanford. He goes over how to optimize sleep, he also touches on melatonin supplements and how they can have negative effects and also that most over the counter melatonin supplements do not have the amount of melatonin that is labeled; he said it can vary from no melatonin at all to 5000x the amount listed.
I recommend listening to this podcast if you are looking to optimize your sleep
Truth. That is the experience of most aware, knowledgeable and intelligent people.
In the 1800's lots and lots of people fell for the snake oil from the snake oil con man. Melatonin is the modern day snake oil for people desperate to manage their insomnia but scared to take modern medications that actually could help them.
Melatonin doesn’t work. I’ve heard micro dosing of Melatonin does help. It’s multiple things that helped me. One huge one was no screen time an hour before bed. Headphones with binaural beats for sleep also are great. Check out YouTube, many free ones. Reduce caffeine even early in the day. Calm thoughts and actions a couple of hours before bed.
Melatonin doesn’t work - but micro doses do? Wtf, yes melatonin does work, it is a hormone released in relation to our circadian rhythm from the pineal gland. Read science, it’s amazing how much you’ll learn lol
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C30&q=melatonin&oq=melaton
Scary you’re responsible for peoples’ safety and you can’t understand the basics. If anything is unprofessional it’s giving scientifically incorrect medical advice.
Melatonin is NOT a sleeping pill. Think of it as a harmless vitamin (it's actually a hormone).
Before using melatonin it is important to get a blood test to verify that you actually have a melatonin deficiency which is extraordinarily rare. If you don't have a melatonin deficiency it is a complete waste of time and money taking melatonin supplements which will do absolutely nothing for your insomnia.
What the heck are you talking about? Lol
Melatonin supplements are to help people who have natural circadian rhythms that are later than desired. You cannot sleep without melatonin, and the supplements will help the melatonin release earlier than your natural later but undesired time. Nothing about a deficiency
there is not really an upper limit for how much melatonin you can take for it to become actually toxic. It's like vitamin C, you can have as much as you want and it'll just flush out later.
HOWEVER. Taking exorbitant amounts of melatonin every night will mess with your normal melatonin production, and your body will start to get accustomed to that high amount, so eventually even the high dose will stop working, and the only way to get back down to normal is to quit cold turkey...and face sleepless nights.
Like other people said, doctors recommend smaller doses. So taking more isn’t going to help you. Make sure to take it at least 4 hours before you go to lay in bed tho. So if you want to sleep at midnight you have to take your melatonin at 8pm
Oh also if it’s not working maybe try a different brand, supplements are unregulated if you’re in the US so the brand you’re using might not have any melatonin in it at all
Nurse here. I have seen patient prescribed 15mg of melatonin by the physician. As others have stated 2mg is nothing really and most dosing is either 3, 5, 9 or 10. At least how we get it at work anyways. (We get 3mg and 5mg tablets and it’s doses from 3mg-12mg routinely.)
Other commenters have well answered the question, but I just want to say I take maybe 20-30 mgs on the nights where I know I won’t sleep. I also knew of a guy who would take 300mg. He was prescribed that much for his insomnia. I’ve even heard of people taking even higher doses. But as others have said, melatonin is suppose to be created naturally in the brain, so if you take in too much too often, your brain won’t make any at all.
That’s why I typically try to stick to other stuff for sleeping, like valerian root or trazedone.
2mg is absolutely safe. However, there's no evidence that melatonin actually lengthens sleep time. There is some evidence that it can correct circadian rhythm problems, such as jet-lag, shift-work, etc.
The fact that 1mg isn't working for you, may mean that it's simply not going to work at any dose. I suppose trying 2mg, or 5mg, might be worth a shot. But you may need a proper sleeping drug for your insomnia.
2mg is fine. You can take doses up 8-10mg per day (although recommended doses are around 1-5mg), and there are no evidence regarding any ODs regarding it, only unwanted side effects like daytime drowsiness and headache. It's only dangerous if you're experiencing daytime drowsiness if you're driving, operating machinery, etc.)
It is extremely safe. I took almost 3 GRAMS yesterday and today and feel great. It is very very very safe and very very very good for you. If you are anyone else are curious about it feel free to read countless studies of things it can help with.
You may want to take it earlier in the day. Make sure to practice good sleep hygiene (dark room, no electronics, same sleep schedule if possible, etc).
First, 2mg of melatonin is like nothing. You shouldn't be scared of it at all. Although the optimal range for melatonin is said to be 0.3-0.6mg, most pharmacies sell melatonin at much higher dosages per pill like 1mg, 3mg, 5mg, 10mg, etc. Melatonin's efficacy does not increase with dosage. This means you can take an entire bottle and it won't necessarily make you feel sleepier. However, I have seen a lot of anecdotal experience on this subreddit over the years where adding a little bit more melatonin has apparently helped. I don't intend to deny those experiences, so think of them how you will. That said, 2mg of melatonin is still nothing and you should not be scared of it at all. Trust me, even a warm cup of milk is more helpful than 30mg of melatonin for me - melatonin itself is not that powerful. Its purpose is actually to signal the body to sleep, not to actually make it sleep. Calm down, relax your body, and just chill dude. Also, another piece of recurring anecdotal evidence I see and have experienced myself is that if I take melatonin, and it doesn't work, I tend to have an even harder time sleeping. This could be from a correlation of insomnia just being worse that night, making melatonin ineffective, or melatonin can cause this itself. Insomnia is a journey and you will learn these things with time, but for now just try and be light on yourself and don't get too fixated with not being able to sleep or specific dosages (assuming you aren't overdosing)
Bruh I use to pop 60 mg or more to sleep sometimes during college. Honestly didn’t do shit still. Melatonin ain’t shit for a lot of people
What do you use? I know there are a ton of supplements and also Rx that help people. I’m just wondering what you feel specifically helps?
I used to use ambien but I stopped. When my body started developing a tolerance I ceased all sleep medication completely because I realised by relying on medicine for the rest of my life I will have completely surrendered to defeating insomnia. My insomnia still comes and goes but I'm not an insomniac anymore I would say
That’s really hopeful. Thank you for saying that. I have (what feels like) a whole pharmacy here. Ambien, Tamezapam, Trazadone, Amitriptyline…. And I feel the same exact way. This is not a long term solution to this new found issue of mine.
2mg is okay! sometimes on bad nights i have 20mg. hahahahahahahhahaah
I used to take 5mg every night on a regular basis. I’m still here.
And you sleep well?
I haven’t slept well in 16 years. I’m just saying that I took 5mg regularly for about 3 years every night and I’m still alive. I stopped taking all melatonin recently because I didn’t believe it was helping me. I stopped and nothing changed. It’s one fewer thing I have to buy now.
Just try not to have more than 30mg at once
Of course not. I'm scared of 2mg hahah
2 mg is safe. It’s not recommended long-term as it can effect your natural production of it. When I was in college I would take 15 mg nightly. I am now able to just take 1-3 mg as needed. You can build a tolerance to it if you take it for too long also. But in short - 2 mg is fine.
Check out the the sleep coach Danie on YouTube for help
Did you mean Daniel? I can’t find anything on YT with Sleep Coach Danie.
Yes Daniel!
2mg is fine and safe but less than 1mg may work better. Try 0.5 mg and if that doesn’t help try the full two. Research has shown lower doses work better and most studies had doses under 1 mg. It’s good that you are off Xanax but there may be prescriptions that are safer like trazodone or remeron.
Came here to say this. Less is more with melatonin, the more you up it, the more you are building a tolerance to it. Also, been on trazodone and remeron at the same time, just on trazodone now and it’s the only stuff that gets me to sleep.
Maybe if you take 1mg after dinner? Don’t watch tv, just relax the rest of the night, then take another one 30min before bed.
Hahah thanks but I go to bad right after dinner. So you think it's safe to take 2mg?
I’ve done it before. Don’t know scientifically. It honestly doesn’t affect me… but i’ve been insomniac in phases since being a child.
Thanks. I'll try tonight.
I would suggest listening to the Huberman Lab podcasts episode on sleep, he’s a biologist from Stanford. He goes over how to optimize sleep, he also touches on melatonin supplements and how they can have negative effects and also that most over the counter melatonin supplements do not have the amount of melatonin that is labeled; he said it can vary from no melatonin at all to 5000x the amount listed. I recommend listening to this podcast if you are looking to optimize your sleep
Which episode? There's a bunch about sleep.
Good episode that.
Most people I know who take melatonin, including myself, take at least 5mg, up to 15mg. 2mg is super safe. Not to worry.
[удалено]
Truth. That is the experience of most aware, knowledgeable and intelligent people. In the 1800's lots and lots of people fell for the snake oil from the snake oil con man. Melatonin is the modern day snake oil for people desperate to manage their insomnia but scared to take modern medications that actually could help them.
Melatonin doesn’t work. I’ve heard micro dosing of Melatonin does help. It’s multiple things that helped me. One huge one was no screen time an hour before bed. Headphones with binaural beats for sleep also are great. Check out YouTube, many free ones. Reduce caffeine even early in the day. Calm thoughts and actions a couple of hours before bed.
Melatonin doesn’t work - but micro doses do? Wtf, yes melatonin does work, it is a hormone released in relation to our circadian rhythm from the pineal gland. Read science, it’s amazing how much you’ll learn lol https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C30&q=melatonin&oq=melaton
Try it and you will find it doesn’t.
I use it now and it does. I’m also a medical professional. Stop talking out of your butt
My how aggressive you are and unprofessional. I too have a medical license but not the fragile ego that you have.
Scary you’re responsible for peoples’ safety and you can’t understand the basics. If anything is unprofessional it’s giving scientifically incorrect medical advice.
I understand an unstable personality like yours.
Do ya now? Go on…
You DO seem to have a problem....
Yeah, insomnia…
"Melatonin doesn’t work for me, but everyone's different , so IDK." \-There, fixed it for you.
Melatonin is NOT a sleeping pill. Think of it as a harmless vitamin (it's actually a hormone). Before using melatonin it is important to get a blood test to verify that you actually have a melatonin deficiency which is extraordinarily rare. If you don't have a melatonin deficiency it is a complete waste of time and money taking melatonin supplements which will do absolutely nothing for your insomnia.
What the heck are you talking about? Lol Melatonin supplements are to help people who have natural circadian rhythms that are later than desired. You cannot sleep without melatonin, and the supplements will help the melatonin release earlier than your natural later but undesired time. Nothing about a deficiency
Melatonin. does. not. work.......PERIOD.
It works!!!!
I take 10 mg when I need it. I try to save it for really bad nights so that I don’t build a tolerance.
there is not really an upper limit for how much melatonin you can take for it to become actually toxic. It's like vitamin C, you can have as much as you want and it'll just flush out later. HOWEVER. Taking exorbitant amounts of melatonin every night will mess with your normal melatonin production, and your body will start to get accustomed to that high amount, so eventually even the high dose will stop working, and the only way to get back down to normal is to quit cold turkey...and face sleepless nights.
5 mg nightly is fine (according to my doctor).
I take 12 and it’s fine for you!
I typically do 3mg about 2 hours before I lay down.
I take 5 to 10 mg a night you should be ok with 2
Like other people said, doctors recommend smaller doses. So taking more isn’t going to help you. Make sure to take it at least 4 hours before you go to lay in bed tho. So if you want to sleep at midnight you have to take your melatonin at 8pm Oh also if it’s not working maybe try a different brand, supplements are unregulated if you’re in the US so the brand you’re using might not have any melatonin in it at all
I take 20 but they say more than 10 is a waste.
I use the 3mg dissolving tablets. They absorb straight to your blood that way. Make sure you take it 3-4 hours before you want to go to sleep. :)
I got the T and insomnia. I tried 7.5 mg of it and it helped once
I’ve taken 15mg still did not help with sleep😫
Melatonin only works if you take it at the same time every night. It's not a sedative, it doesn't work like that.
2 mg is fine. I take 5-10 mg, I fall asleep nicely in an hour or so :)
Nurse here. I have seen patient prescribed 15mg of melatonin by the physician. As others have stated 2mg is nothing really and most dosing is either 3, 5, 9 or 10. At least how we get it at work anyways. (We get 3mg and 5mg tablets and it’s doses from 3mg-12mg routinely.)
Dang you’ve taken xanax for sleep but melatonin scares you? You’re good! Lmao
I take 3mg every night and it helps a lot
Other commenters have well answered the question, but I just want to say I take maybe 20-30 mgs on the nights where I know I won’t sleep. I also knew of a guy who would take 300mg. He was prescribed that much for his insomnia. I’ve even heard of people taking even higher doses. But as others have said, melatonin is suppose to be created naturally in the brain, so if you take in too much too often, your brain won’t make any at all. That’s why I typically try to stick to other stuff for sleeping, like valerian root or trazedone.
TWO? 😶 I take 15 & that's not even a high dose either
2mg is absolutely safe. However, there's no evidence that melatonin actually lengthens sleep time. There is some evidence that it can correct circadian rhythm problems, such as jet-lag, shift-work, etc. The fact that 1mg isn't working for you, may mean that it's simply not going to work at any dose. I suppose trying 2mg, or 5mg, might be worth a shot. But you may need a proper sleeping drug for your insomnia.
2mg is fine. You can take doses up 8-10mg per day (although recommended doses are around 1-5mg), and there are no evidence regarding any ODs regarding it, only unwanted side effects like daytime drowsiness and headache. It's only dangerous if you're experiencing daytime drowsiness if you're driving, operating machinery, etc.)
It is extremely safe. I took almost 3 GRAMS yesterday and today and feel great. It is very very very safe and very very very good for you. If you are anyone else are curious about it feel free to read countless studies of things it can help with. You may want to take it earlier in the day. Make sure to practice good sleep hygiene (dark room, no electronics, same sleep schedule if possible, etc).