Melatonin
Better Sleep and Less Bodyfat
Recently I have been experimenting with taking 40-50mg of melatonin about 1 hour before bed.
While I generally get good sleep, 8 months ago my wife and I had our first child, and as of recent he tends wake up in the middle of the night somewhat fussy and wanting to nurse, and needs to be soothed back to sleep.
As I have always been a light sleeper (I wake up easily, always have), this has proven generally disruptive to my sleep.
As such, I considered what I could take to fall asleep faster, and ensure more deep sleep.
Enter Melatonin
Per the research of Dr. Russell Reiter, melatonin is a biological molecule with immense health properties.
Melatonin: Exceeding Expectations
He has written a book on the subject, and has continued to do research in the decades since.
Currently he is over 90 years old, still lecturing about the benefits Melatonin, and takes it daily.
If you want to explore more about the science of melatonin, watch his lectures or read his book.
Enter the Bros
Bodybuilder have used high dose melatonin for some years now. It was discovered that melatonin can be taken in high doses by Bros experimenting with it for better sleep.
What is a high dose? More than 10mg at least.
Is that SAFE????
Yes.
An upper limit to Melatonin has never been clearly established.
In fact, its possible the dosage protocols for melatonin have been too low
Some people take over 200mg, Dr. John Lieurance recommends taking it as a suppository or in liposomal form.
Here is a recent meta review on Melatonin and dosage.
Are melatonin doses employed clinically adequate for melatonin-induced cytoprotection?
20-1000mg have been used in various studies, with no serious side effects.
Read that again, ONE THOUSAND MILLIGRAMS.
Thats a gram of melatonin.
No one died.
Melatonin can be taken in higher amounts.
At worst, you are too sleepy taking it.
That is okay. Dont take it if makes you sleepy.
Your experience will be individualized. I do not make blanket recommendations.
Your experience will be unique to yourself.
At best, its incredibly restorative for sleep, has anti-cancer and life extension properties, and it may reduce visceral bodyfat, independent of diet or exercise
The dosage that he has experimented with 0.2mg - 0.25mg per lb of bodyweight.
That is 40-50mg for a 200lb man.
That is what I have been taking. It has been working.
My sleep is the best it has been in months.
It also does not impair your bodies natural production of melatonin.
Contrary to popular assumption, taking exogenous melatonin does NOT shut down your bodies production.
Melatonin has been studied for decades, this effect has never presented itself in the research.
Your body does not downregulate natural production in the pineal gland. Production does not operate on a feedback loop that way when exogenous melatonin is taken.
Additionally, most peoples melatonin production is insufficient by default.
Melatonin is normally produced at NIGHT in response to darkness.
The reason people produce less melatonin is largely from the light pollution, as well as various prescription medications, disregulated sleep and wake times, and late night eating
Chronobiology is its own area of medicine.
What if I get ADDICTED TO IT??
Melatonin is not addictive in that you crave it, the way you would say coffee.
Considering how many people need caffeine to function and regularly take NSAIDs for pain, I find it odd that taking something for sleep causes such concern, especially when the potential health benefits are orders of magnitude larger.
Regardless,
If it helps you sleep better, take it.
If it does not, then dont.
It is safer than any pharmaceutical sleep medication, vastly cheaper, and can be bought online or off the shelf.
I Do NOT have any brand recommendations
As I take 40-50mg a night, I buy melatonin in the 10mg capsules. Various brands sell this version, buy from whom you trust.
Dr. Huberman suggests it has profound effects "If however, you inject those animals with melatonin, or you put them into short days... their testicles shrink to the size of a grain of rice…And there are powerful effects of melatonin on the reproductive axis."
Melatonin keeps me awake. I’m one of the freaks that can’t take it, or else I would.