DOSE:

12 mg

sublingual

Melatonin

(ground / crushed)

BODY WEIGHT:

130 lb

I started taking melatonin after I moved into a hundred year old apartment building with no central heat and air and windows that only seemed to let the heat out in the winter and the cold air out in the summer. In two years of sobriety I hadn't felt as though I'd had a single good nights rest, and the new living arrangements weren't helping. After a few weeks of broken and no sleep, I decided I had to do something. Despite the field I do research in, I'm generally against any prolonged personal use of non-life-essential pharmaceuticals. I refuse to take anything for headaches, I've never had a prescription for sleeping pills, and I won't see a doctor except in a dire emergency. So when I considered taking melatonin, I had to spend a little time first figuring out how to use it.

Melatonin isn't really much of a sleeping pill or mystical dream medium. Short term usage effects aren't where melatonin shines; with consistent and methodical usage over a period of time, it helps retrain my brain to a new sleep cycle.

For three nights I crushed the pills and held them sublingually for several minutes before swallowing. The first night I felt sleepy within 20 minutes and was able to fall asleep immediately after. I woke up every three hours and had vivid dreams that I was able to recall in detail well after waking up. The sleep was better than usual, but I still didn't feel completely rested. The second day, I took it at the same time as the first and had similar effects, including the dreams, without feeling unrested or groggy the next day. The third night I stayed up late working and was surprised when I was became deliriously sleepy within about half an hour of when I would have normally taken the melatonin. Unable to focus any longer, I took one and dozed into my other waking life.

Over the course of the following week, I noticed I became tired at the same time every night whether or not I took melatonin. If I took it, I fell asleep more quickly and stayed asleep longer as well as retained clearer memories of any dreams. I eventually stopped taking it once my waking, living, and sleep schedules stabilized and now only take it when I feel restless at night. I've had no unexpected or noticeable long term effects from taking it.

Exp Year: 2011	ExpID: 92331
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 24
Published: Aug 28, 2018	Views: 1,013
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Melatonin (94) : Therapeutic Intent or Outcome (49), Retrospective / Summary (11), Alone (16)