High Dose Melatonin Therapy

I slowly increased <1mg to 8 mg. For my surprise, it reduced lot of blockages in resisting the temptations ( of ruminating thoughts and dissatisfaction with the events), for which I had trouble for more than 6 months. It was not sleepy or groggy much even if i reduce my sleep to 7 hrs. As a whole it is a pleasant result. I only did 8 mg once, felt that not too much difference between 6mg and 8mg. I will continue to increase and see how it goes. Dreams are more vivid, if i want to remember. Though Melatonin alone may not be the cause of the change, as a whole, i feel more positive mood than before and sense of better control over thoughts than before.
 
I took 3mg (not a high dose, but enough to make a difference) melatonin yesterday and I did have better sleep, slept longer and had more dreams. But what was unexpected was how it made the morning cigarette smoother, which usually seems to be related to my antioxidant status, and it's flavor was changed as well. That may sound weird but in my experience the flavor of a cigarette is heavily tied to body status when environmental conditions are accounted for. The connections between melatonin and smoking are interesting, and the neuroprotective effects seem complementary to that of germanium sesquioxide. It seems melatonin and germanium could be a useful pairing for hypoxia and circulation related injuries.
 
I think the absence of pure melatonin might be due to the small dosage requirements. It is easier for manufacturers to dilute it with some filler to make the dose easier to measure, and reduce the possibility of accidental megadoses that happens when you have a machine trying to fill capsules far below their capacity limit. At 3mg you would hardly see any powder in the capsule, customers would think they are being scammed!

Also, I seem to be doing everything faster, like someone turned up the speed knob. I see a problem and I instantly know what to do, whereas before it was more of a struggle to get the gears turning in my head for any given event. I am also having more creative thoughts. Melatonin is said to be slightly mind-altering, similar to hallucinogenic drugs, so I suppose it isn't out of character. Much of this could just be attributed to better sleep, but I think the melatonin is playing a specific role rather than just passively improving sleep quantity.

What would be the ramifications for sleep apnea? The neuroprotective effects could be useful, but it is warned against as it could worsen ventilation. Do megadoses have the same effect as normal doses? I wonder about this since melatonin is said to lose it's effectiveness at doses over a few mg.
 
Gaby said:
I finished reading "Melatonin: Breakthrough Discoveries That Can Help You Combat Aging, Boost Your Immune System, Reduce Your Risk of Cancer and Heart Disease, Get a Better Night's Sleep" by Russel Reiter. The book was published in the 90s, but I was amazed of how passionate was the author about this topic and how he presents all the research. It really makes you appreciate melatonin!
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Thank you for this Gaby!

Those who are very sensitive, will have anxiety and nightmares from taking just even 1 or 2 mg, which is why some suggest to start with 0.5mg or less.
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I received Now Foods Melatonin at 3mg per capsule from iHerb about 5 days ago. Even at one capsule nightly, I noticed this increase in 'nightmares' and bizarre dreams. I wake up feeling more refreshed and alert for sure though; in this sense, it doesn't bother me. I don't think I need to lower the dosage, 3mg nightly seems okay so far. It is interesting that it's linked to melatonin sensitivity for sure.
 
I ordered Life Extension Melatonin 1 mg from iherb. I chose this one because I don't have any sleep issues, but I'd like to sleep a bit longer, also the other benefits of melatonin which are worth to try.

I have regular sleep patterns, going to bed about the same time (9:30/10:00 pm) and waking up about 4:00/4:30, so 6-6 1/2 hours of sleep, but I have some concerns over my healt in the long run because of the short time of sleep. I have to say , when I wake up I feel I have rested enough, and my mind is very clear. I was wondering whether this is because of the supplements I take daily or just because I just need lees sleep than average people.

So I'm trying Melatonin to clarify those doubts
 
Well a search of PubMed was interesting. Specifically this paper which was an analysis of many papers/studies of melatonin.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Melatonin is a hormone that regulates circadian rhythm, and its levels decline with age. As melatonin levels decrease, older adults are prone to develop disorders related to an altered circadian rhythm. The effective dose of melatonin supplementation in these disorders remains unclear.
OBJECTIVES:
Our objective was to define the optimal dosage of exogenous melatonin administration in disorders related to altered melatonin levels in older adults aged 55 years and above by determining the dose-response effect of exogenous administered melatonin on endogenous levels.
METHODS:
We conducted a systematic review through PubMed/MEDLINE and Embase, both from 1980 until November 2013. Included articles studied the effect of exogenous melatonin administration on endogenous melatonin levels in either serum, urine, or saliva in humans aged 55 years and above.
RESULTS:
We included 16 articles, nine of which were randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The mean age varied from 55.3 to 77.6 years. Melatonin dosage varied from 0.1 mg to 50 mg/kg and was administered orally in all studies. Pre- and post-intervention levels revealed a significant elevation of the post-intervention melatonin levels in a dose-dependent fashion. The maximum concentrations measured in serum and urine were all elevated compared with placebo, and a higher elevation in older adults than in younger adults was demonstrated. Even though there were no differences between times to reach maximum concentration in serum and urine, melatonin levels with higher doses were maintained longer above a certain threshold than were lower doses.
CONCLUSION:
In older adults, we advise the use of the lowest possible dose of immediate-release formulation melatonin to best mimic the normal physiological circadian rhythm of melatonin and to avoid prolonged, supra-physiological blood levels.
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So the idea, for older adults who are not producing as much melatonin, is to keep the doses fairly low. So at the lowest rate mentioned above, 0.1mg/kg, that would work out to approx 9mg of melatonin for me. I have been taking approx. 11-12 a night recently. What is interesting also is that it appears that melatonin supplementation was more effective in older adults, as their serum levels remained higher. Or another way of looking at it is that younger adults were not as affected by melatonin supplementation as oral doses did not result in elevated serum levels. This could mean that younger adults excreted the melatonin they did not need? or that they actually used the supplemented melatonin and so less was in the blood? I can't say I know enough about physiology to know which explanation, or other explanation, would be more correct.
 
anartist said:
Well a search of PubMed was interesting. Specifically this paper which was an analysis of many papers/studies of melatonin.

So the idea, for older adults who are not producing as much melatonin, is to keep the doses fairly low. So at the lowest rate mentioned above, 0.1mg/kg, that would work out to approx 9mg of melatonin for me. I have been taking approx. 11-12 a night recently. What is interesting also is that it appears that melatonin supplementation was more effective in older adults, as their serum levels remained higher. Or another way of looking at it is that younger adults were not as affected by melatonin supplementation as oral doses did not result in elevated serum levels. This could mean that younger adults excreted the melatonin they did not need? or that they actually used the supplemented melatonin and so less was in the blood? I can't say I know enough about physiology to know which explanation, or other explanation, would be more correct.
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Interesting.

I went down to 1.8 for a couple nights since 2.7 seemed to leave me a bit groggy the next day. But I think I need to go back up again. Going to try 2.5. Ark is holding steady at 5 and it works pretty well for him.
 
Laura said:
Interesting.

I went down to 1.8 for a couple nights since 2.7 seemed to leave me a bit groggy the next day. But I think I need to go back up again. Going to try 2.5. Ark is holding steady at 5 and it works pretty well for him.
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I do find it interesting that there is a difference between older and younger people. And I had another thought about the serum levels of melatonin in connection with something Gaby posted earlier. Since the younger supplementers of melatonin don't keep higher serum levels of melatonin, this would account for younger users waking up when their melatonin levels dropped, their bodies interpreting the decrease in melatonin as a signal to wake up. But it does not seem to result in a cortisol increase, if it did then it would be difficult to get back to sleep!?
Although some may have a hard time going back to sleep for that reason? hard to say, but JUST melatonin dropping does not seem to increase cortisol, so there are more signals/information that have to be available for the body to increase cortisol.

What seems to work for me is taking 6mg of melatonin orally a few hours before bed, then taking 5-6mg melatonin sublingually when I go to bed. When I first started taking melatonin at 3mg sublingual years ago, I did feel groggy at times the following morning, and I did have vivid dreams. Now I don't seem to have either reaction. I also take B12 sublingually at the same time, so this probably reduces the effectiveness of the melatonin, but how much? My B12 is high at around 989pmol/L, so I will stop taking it for a while, and keep the melatonin at the same level, and see if there is any change, particularily in drowsiness or dreams.
 
Hi all, I would like to ask you a small advice please, so lately I'm working during the night and I'm able to take melatonin only a couple of days a week when I'm not working. As far as I understood it is not advisable to take the melatonin in the morning though I was still wondering if in my case it will be wise to take it in the morning before going to sleep or better not to? Thank you kindly for your assistance.
 
Andrian said:
Hi all, I would like to ask you a small advice please, so lately I'm working during the night and I'm able to take melatonin only a couple of days a week when I'm not working. As far as I understood it is not advisable to take the melatonin in the morning though I was still wondering if in my case it will be wise to take it in the morning before going to sleep or better not to? Thank you kindly for your assistance.
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That's how night shift workers are supposed to take it - before going to bed in the morning after the night shift. Hope it helps!
 
anartist said:
I do find it interesting that there is a difference between older and younger people. And I had another thought about the serum levels of melatonin in connection with something Gaby posted earlier. Since the younger supplementers of melatonin don't keep higher serum levels of melatonin, this would account for younger users waking up when their melatonin levels dropped, their bodies interpreting the decrease in melatonin as a signal to wake up. But it does not seem to result in a cortisol increase, if it did then it would be difficult to get back to sleep!?
Although some may have a hard time going back to sleep for that reason? hard to say, but JUST melatonin dropping does not seem to increase cortisol, so there are more signals/information that have to be available for the body to increase cortisol.

What seems to work for me is taking 6mg of melatonin orally a few hours before bed, then taking 5-6mg melatonin sublingually when I go to bed. When I first started taking melatonin at 3mg sublingual years ago, I did feel groggy at times the following morning, and I did have vivid dreams. Now I don't seem to have either reaction. I also take B12 sublingually at the same time, so this probably reduces the effectiveness of the melatonin, but how much? My B12 is high at around 989pmol/L, so I will stop taking it for a while, and keep the melatonin at the same level, and see if there is any change, particularly in drowsiness or dreams.
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Well it has been about two weeks of melatonin only, rather than melatonin and B12 together. I have not noticed much difference but it does seem that I am having better sleep. The very first night without B12 my REM went way down to 0, then bounced back up the following nights going up and down between an hour and 2 hours, and in the last week is pretty solid at 1h45m a night. My deep sleep stayed pretty much the same, averaging an hour a night, but in the past week it has gone down to about 0.75-1.0h per night. There are so many variables in play that it is difficult to assess what affect removing sublingual B12 from my nightly melatonin regime has had, though I can report that while I am not remembering my dreams, I have experienced a dim recall of dreams when awakening which is a change.
I can report something that I have not noticed before which is that last Friday (20Mar) my deep sleep appeared on and off ALL night(1h deep, 1.5h REM), which is very strange as until then, and since, my deep sleep has always occurred in the first part of the night, followed by REM sleep.
 
Since melatonin can protect our DNA from a corona-vaccine
And the doses of melatonin are related to age and young people need less, then I would like to clarify what doses are needed for people aged 20+ years
 
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