as i often have trouble falling asleep, people have been recommending me to take a melatonin pill half an hour before going to bed.
what are you’re experiences with it and is there anything i should be worried about?
Discussion
Will make your Dick small and reduce your T lvls.
source? 🤔
Common sense man, how you gonna sleep with bright lights blasting you in the face?
Fair enough buddy 💜
Oh sorry you were on about the t-levels.
Zinc vitamin is the cure for low T.
Nothing more fancy needed other than ditching activities that lower the levels.
huh, any research on this? 🤔
One data point. Self. Had multiple issues after rupturing a disc and passing a kidney stone at about the same time. I was also overdoing it training for an ultramarathon. Improved diet, increased Vitamin D and addition of zinc remedied T issue. A generalist doctor friend suggested the zinc. Eighteen years old again. 🤣
Try it out and let me know if it works for you.
Oh, and reduced mileage helped, too. 👟👟👟💜
The small dick part was to encourage DYOR
You don't need that shite man. Cut your screen time down and no unnatural light an hour before bed.
Drink valerian root if you're that bad.
I’ll have to check it out. I have been into Elderberry Juice since the start of pandemic 💜
Helps at first but ultimately messes your sleep up even more. You will get trippy dreams tho so thats fun
what do you mean by “messes up your sleep even more”? 🤔
just the natural melatonin levels, circadian rhythm etc?
Yeah circadian rhythm. And in my experience, even when it did make me sleep, I didn’t feel rested the next day.
huh, that’s interesting yeah.
how does the melatonin pill consumption affect your deep sleep etc
I’m giving up caffeine right now to see how that affects me
huh, that’s an interesting one also. i’ve been having rather low energy levels throughout the day, but i’m also not sure if it’s because caffeine (and sugar) crashes, or something else
Have you had blood work done recently? Could be vitamin D deficient. Or if your sleep schedule is irregular that could explain it too.
I just did mine two days ago, so if there are any doctor’s here, that could give me further insight on my results, I’d be absolutely down 💜
Also the latter part is also highly likely 😂🫣
I wish you god speed!
just by logic, because the dreams get really wild, it would be logical assume that the REM sleep phase is much longer than usual
Makes me groggy, but it does help falling asleep initially
Groggy during the first hour of the day? 🤔
Yeah, it makes the mornings and getting out of bed tougher. I dialed back the Mg that I took and it did get better. I really struggle with sleep too, so at one point I was taking 10 mg and that was sleeeeeeeepy
Don't play with your hormones. It's the system of connected vessels. You will fuck up something else and then might never get back to proper hormone levels.
try something more natural!! smoke weed
i wish i could, didn’t have the most positive experience with it 🤔
that’s an interesting discussion to have though 💜
ah i understand. my brother is the same way with it. i also recommend working out or going for a long walk before bedtime. helps me a lot
yeah, that’s a wonderful one
i used to love going for a run, taking a warm shower and going straight to bed
when my knee is back being a-okay, i’ll get back to it 💜
Melatonin is literally a chemical produced by your body.
yeah but taking it in pill form ruins the bodies ability to naturally produce it
no shit 😂
I slept but the dreams were way too crazy, after about a month of trying two different occasions I decided I'd rather just toss and turn. 🤷
yeah, fair enough 😂💜 been hearing about the wild dreams a lot 😂
Try magnesium
why would magnesium help? 🤔
there's several types, try the right type of magnesium: magnesium glycinate, 30m before sleep (works on gba receptors which help w muscle relaxation and nervous system regulation)
heard somebody else mention magnesium here also, glad to hear the specific kind 🤔💜
how’s your experience with them been?
Magnesium also helps regulate melatonin, a hormone that maintains your circadian rhythm (sleep-wake cycle). Magnesium may help calm your mind, relieve anxiety, and help you get a good night's sleep.
huh, so maybe i should adjust my sleep schedule to it’s ideal with melatonin and then improve my sleep hygiene and consume magnesium before going to bed 🤔💜
I really enjoy reading the tips 😂
+1
i’d love to hear your thoughts and also sleep hygiene and habits 💜🤗
think we all could improve our sleep just by 1%, which would be huge for us on the longer term
My tips are a bit weird again. However, I never had problems with falling asleep.
Lots of exercise throughout the day (hopefully your knee will be ok soon 🫂).
Intermittent fasting, so no eating after 8 pm. Preferably no coffee, at least not after 4 pm.
Time in nature.
Magnesium actually helps. No sugar if possible.
No media an hour before sleep.
Meditate in the evening, take a warm shower, maybe a long walk.
Get up early in the morning.
How does that sound? Pretty exhausting, isn't it? 😂
I personally wont look into supplements yet
my main issue is not adhering to a proper routine during the day and right before sleep
i know what i need to do, i just have to do it lol
i need to get out of my own way is what it is
I don’t get a lot of these comments. But I’ve been on melatonin for years and it radically changed my life. I went years without sleeping. That being said:
* it will only work if you are deficient in melatonin.
* taking more does not have an effect. Your body only uses what uses.
* you may notice grogginess in the morning. This faded for me over time.
Some friends use it with their kids and swear by it. I don’t like it. I find that going for a walk after dinner, no screen time 1 hour before bed, and some light reading works well.
yeah, lowering the screen time would help a lot.
reading on the other hand wakes me up more than anything, so i’d have to pick like a really boring book 😂
😂😂 yes, boring books are key.
Interesting. Reading makes me very sleepy - but only with books, not screens.
I also fall asleep super fast listening to podcasts.
Generally speaking I fall asleep easily no matter what. I can have a full cup of coffee and sleep 5 minutes later 😂
I think this is an “affliction” that most parents with young kids suffer from. I was going to offer him two of mine to get him back on track, but my wife said three, with us keeping the best one! 😂
😂 exactly. If you can’t fall asleep, have some kids 😂 😂
My soon wife is scared to have kids because i sleep so easily and so deeply 🫠
the second part of this is so true..
i have literally slept on without blinking with my iPhone alarm blasting next to my ear for a solid 30 minutes 😂
It will be your superpower. Your wife will be jealous, because momma bear instincts kick in and they can hear a pin drop a mile away.
Can’t count the number of couch naps I’ve had with my kids sitting on me. You’ll be fine. 😂
I’ve only dropped two out of four. Funny enough, the two that fell are the smartest….
Shakes all the right things loose. 😂
“why did you have kids?”
lack of sleep
“what do you wish was different now that you have little kids?”
some sleep pls
😂 after our second I stopped buying books because I could never finish them. Now, I just sign them out from public libraries. Late fines are way cheaper! 😂
Kids will exhaust you to the point of easy sleep. I’ve found just borrowing them works fine. Haven’t had my own yet.
And the able to return them part is a nice bonus too. 😂
I kinda want one to keep. Worried I may accidentally pull a Liz Lemon soon. Hold someone’s adorable baby, close my eyes for a second, and then be like oh shit how’d I get home with someone else’s baby!?
They’re the freakin best honestly. Recommended.
😂😂 remind me not to let you babysit, or maybe I should 😂😂
Depends on the day, right?!
Or time if the day 😂
Pre 9am wake ups sorted. Thanks nostr:npub17x7htjej3hgcqwqj86u9yvpcunhw6nz4zclzph2zfnlwe4v0yp8qrxvgap . 😂
😂 she just lives in our houses, drinking coffee and waiting for our kids to wake up
If you want to discuss night nanny wages I’m willing to talk. You can sleep in. You could also wake up to a home cooked breakfast. Fresh coffee. I’ll keep the kids entertained until you’re ready for the day. Kids will be dressed and I’ll let myself out like a magical little fairy.
😂 this could work.
It might work until you find out how much people have paid for nanny services. 😂
yeah, screens keep me wake aswell
the killer is that i get impatient when i don’f fall asleep in like 15 minutes. i crave stimulation so i pick up my phone again, and there it goes… 🫣
Yeah, shouldn’t you already be asleep?
Just move to NA 😂
busy being a ‘content creator’ 🤣 
😂
A discontent creator?
would you rather be content with lack of content or discontent about the content created?
I don't fuck with melatonin. Glycine, magnesium, and L-Theanine is my go-to sleep stack when I'm having trouble.
Nothing wrong with melatonin per se, but it makes me groggy when I wake up.
I find listening to the voice of @walker is good before sleeping
damn, that might be a good recommendation tbh
need something similar to the app Calm, with nostr:npub1cj8znuztfqkvq89pl8hceph0svvvqk0qay6nydgk9uyq7fhpfsgsqwrz4u ‘s voice 🤔
Didn’t work for me, too groggy in the morning. Magnesium helps me relax. I can’t remember the last time I slept well. The last 6 months: 
Do you get enough exercise?
can’t really exercise too much, having knee problems (just went to the physiotherapist yesterday)
did the recovery exercise routine with resistance band, that he gave me 💜
Dont, putting extra melatonin on your bloodstream will result in your brain becoming dependant on it and producing less.
Already posted the article on that one. I’ve not experienced that. It is entirely possible that stopping taking it means your levels return to a lower state and people struggle sleeping until they find a new way to cope.
Sleep is a complex topic I’ve studied for a long time. My motivation was that I was down to getting 2-3 hours a day on good days.
Diphenhydramine HCI is another sleep aid, but I consider it very suboptimal because it is artificial and dries you out. Long term usage can cause kidney function decrease due to dehydration. As far as pharmaceuticals go, it’s very low side-effect, but ya know 🤷♂️
For natural sleep, reducing blue light before bed (turn off tvs, lights, and use “Night Shift” on iOS or similar on Android.
Sleeping at the *same time every night* is also essential to allowing your body to establish a steady circadian rhythm. Sleep is a process in the brain, and you need to allow your brain time to do that.
Don’t perform other activities in the area you sleep. Your brain benefits for being cued to sleep when you begin your night routine. Doing away with phone and tv usage on the bedroom helped me a bit.
the last sentence is truly for the privileged, that have that option, but the rest of it is absolutely amazing advice ❤️🤗
thank you so so much 💜
White noise generators, etc are also helpful. Endel is a great app for sleep (also for focus during the day).
Establishing habits and a schedule is probably most important though.
I would try a very low dose of melatonin 30 minutes before your desired sleep time, and go to bed at that time every night for a couple of weeks. The melatonin can assist you in shifting your circadian rhythm to the new schedule (see article I posted). Then, if you establish a decent sleeping pattern, you can wean off the melatonin to see if you are actually low on it.
my side effects taking melatonin include about an hour of itching. but my dreams are usually more vivid, which is a plus.
huh, an hour of itching? 🤔
I've used it regularly when getting over jetlag (works a charm) but never for extended periods. I believe it's very safe (it's a compound produced by your body after all) but I'd worry about potential dependence (real or placebo) with long-term usage.
yeah, the latter part is something that i’m worried about the most
+ the actual sleep quality
Don’t do melatonin. As others have said.
Follow this instead, it works:
I listen to high frenq. Music . To reset and give my body Energie . It works better with #weedstr . Look @ dm nostr:npub1t3ggcd843pnwcu6p4tcsesd02t5jx2aelpvusypu5hk0925nhauqjjl5g4 it works for me i never sleep
How is your sleep hygiene?
Also, insomnia is a symptom with a wide range of causes from acute stress to medical/psychiatric conditions.
don’t really think it’s that deep
probably some more simple things to try out first, and if that won’t fix it, i’ll worry about the bigger worries 💜
Melatonin is naturaly produced by your pineal gland inside your brain. Having difficuty to fall asleep is a sign of a calcified pineal. Avoid artificial melatonin, decalcify your pineal by avoiding fluoride and you will sleep like a baby every night. Beside, you will unlock your mind.
There’s a hundred things you can try before pills
No screen time before bed, read a book or math
No sugar or coffee at least 8 hours before bed
Proper workout during the day so your body is physically tired. Try switching from cardio to strength training
If those don’t work meditation, sleep therapy, mental sleep tricks, hypnosis, etc
Colder bedroom
Thinner sheets
Raise head by couple inches with thicker pillow
Try falling asleep in your back
With your eyes closed try to cycle through a nive memory of the day. Or focus through your third eye or focus attention far away
is sleeping on your back advised? 🤔 i’ve always fell asleep on my right side
Most people fall asleep on their side. A food and sleep doctor once explained to me that when you fall asleel most people roll onto their back anyway. During lighter rem states you can turn on your side again but not in deep rem sleep.
Personally I find myself drift away quicker after ~ 10 mins on my back, but this might not work for you 🤷
Get yourself a decent magnesium supplement. A complex is probably a good shout. Threonate is my prefered mags if I were to pick one though.
Also maybe warm the body up with a shower or bath so your internal temp cools down.
ohh, the last part especially is some wonderful advice 💜
thank you so much buddy 🫶
Not perfect at this, but I try the following. Got it from a free fitness email list.
1. No food 3 hours before bed.
2. No water/liquids 2 hours before bed.
3. No screens 1 hour before bed.
damn, no water before bed 🥺🤯
1. Start going outside at sunset.
2. Minimize blue light exposure after sunset
3. Try magnesium
Spending at least some time outside, part of it in the direct sunlight if possible. IMO it's what our bodies need to stay in the right balance.
Since I'm doing this at least 3/4 of a year (winters are bleak here), the nights I have trouble sleeping are ultra rare. Like a few days in a year. And I'm a night owl, staying late, waking up late, sleeping in the daylight with no blinds on, no screen hygiene at all... none.
Also watch your food habits, heavy and spicey meals consumed late in the day or just before you go to sleep makes for shallow sleep that easily gets disrupted by even a small noise. The same applies to alcohol.
Good quality blue light blocking glasses a few hours before your desired bedtime will work wonders. Make sure they are high quality ones which have high blocking levels ( they will generally be red coloured at higher levels ). Worked much better for me than time release melatonin.
1. Never supplement melatonin, it can disrupt your natural production.
2. Quit/pause alcohol and caffeine.
3. Wake up early. Get sun right away. The evening alarm is more important than the morning alarm.
4. Eat more animal products and fruits, less grains and no seed oils.
5. Try out lifting; Starting Strength is a great program. If stressed, journal. I like bullet journaling.
6. Supplement glycine, taurine, and magnesium glycinate. Take a tablespoon of raw honey before bathroom stuff.
7. Make room cool and dark. 67-69F for most people. Blackout shades. Lift head of bed 1-2". Set phone in bathroom. Read fiction with an amber/red book light.
Your welcome.
solid advice. red light after dusk is my new melatonin 
Never heard of the red light used like that before, noted 💜
jack recommended it. my wife laughed at me installing these all over the house but later had to admit it’s relaxing
used to always have a Himalayan salt lamp in my room ever since I was a child, which is the closest i’ve probably experienced to that 🤔
really like how they look + how calming they felt https://cdn.nostr.build/p/On0G.webp
What is bullet journaling?
Supplementing anything means there’s probably something wrong with your diet.
Blackout shades likely harm circadian rhythm.
Red lights or candles always.
It's a hyper minimal yet powerful journaling method that eliminates the need to use your device for day to day life.
I was able to stop using digital productivity apps all together, but also establish a solid format for long form writing, day to day journaling, habit tracking, and doodling.
I only use my phone for shared calendar with the wife and nostr now. 😂
nostr:npub18ekka6n399pskjzjusvduscem5c99dewg2swe3u68vdce92cmxgszeht3g knows I'm a big fan.
Do you personally take any supplements?
I take dessicated ruminant organs, although I don't consider them supplements. My fav is bull's testicles.
If you find that glycine and taurine are of great assistance, then just increase the consumption of meat and connective tissue. Again, these are amino acids, not really supplements.
I also take minerals: full mineral mine salts, ionic minerals, fulvic minerals, and shilajit.
I've been experimenting with #methyleneblue in the morning to help restore energy now that I've dumped coffee.
nostr:npub1sg6plzptd64u62a878hep2kev88swjh3tw00gjsfl8f237lmu63q0uf63m is plenty supple 😜
red lights are game changer
Just jotting things down with a key for the bullet point, like things to do with a check box bullet, things to remember in a full circle etc.
It is the only form of jurnaling/note taking that has ever worked for me.
I would think that for magnesium that most people are deficient and that it's difficult to get the RDA by food alone.
Aye, the soil used to be absolutely full of magnesium before industrial farming and petro fertilizers.
computer screens are inherently blue due to the technology.
putting a candle next to your PC won't help ;)
Thank you so much for this, love the way you structured it also, made it really easy to read 💜
The red booklight, can confirm . Must check out the rest .
Why the raised bed?
Nice recommendations, except the first. I could not find a source/reliable paper on this. I guess it is not right. Can you help with good source for this? 🤔
Look up huberman labs episode on sleep protocol.
He outlines problems with melatonin and suggests better alternatives. I believe he cites sources.
Can also seat for huberman labs sleep protocol toolkit if you just want a summary.
Melatonin has a host of issues some I knew about before Huberman, and a bunch more I learned after listening to his discussion. It’s legit
Thanks, nostr:npub1y0kt3nttqhre2utsglce4pzyma67lp3xumldwzkkfrdkpjjht6qqnlyrh7 , very helpful. I will look it up and report here for our nice #nostr friends a little bit later. Appreciate very much! 🙏
I did not forget this. I dived down this melatonin issue and I found some diverging arguments from different research. Well, that’s science. …
Will continue and report here.
Great to hear 🤙
Here is the podcast I mentioned that discusses some issues with melatonin. I timestamped the link to the correct part. (About 1 hour 16 mins 45 seconds in)
I followed the morning sunlight, exercise, cold shower, and magnesium part of his protocol last year and it was the best sleep I’ve had in years.
So while the evidence on melatonin may be mixed, I can tell you that in my case it definitely wasn’t necessary. (And I had tied it in years past without the awesome success I had last year)
I often find the days I go for long walks or intense exercise makes me fall asleep much quicker.
🤔I have trouble not falling asleep
there are so many wonderful tips on this thread 🤗❤️
of course, take everything with a pinch of salt and DYOR 🧡
Helps in a pinch, but don’t rely on it. I basically need it for a night or two if I ever wanna stop smoking weed for a while and I don’t want to just lie awake in bed all night. It makes me feel kinda groggy and gives me strange dreams, too.
Going to avoid weed for some time, trying to get other things right first 💜
supplemental melatonin can really mess up your natural sleeping rythm. may find yourself tired at inappropriate times, groggy in the korning.
I took it for years before realizing it’s better to get a thorough workout and just eat once in the afternoon, avoid sugar, stop drinking caffeine if you must have it about like 10am.
i was recommended red light after dusk and I have found that very relaxing, better than melatonin
if you use nicotine you have to just accept the poor sleep tradeoff
limit screentime after dusk
woah, you only eat once a day?
damn, crazy 🤯
quit smoking and drinking, caffeine and sugar are the next in line for me. 💜
congrats man, caffeine & sugar are so hard. I struggle with these too.
my great grandparents both farmed into their 90s & lived to be over 100 each.
they ate one meal a day. primarily meat and nothing they didn’t raise or grow themselves.
thank you buddy, really need to take a deeper look at my diet and grocery list, when i move back to my dormitory in a couple of weeks.
trying to figure out why my energy levels are so incredibly low throughout the day 🤔
it takes time to adjust.
there’s no food in the grocery store brother, head to the nearest butcher
It works for me but… I definitely feel a difference between brands/strengths.
Get a decent brand. Personally I like a timed release 3 or 5 mg
Melatonin is something you can use to fix an acute condition like a jetlag. For chronic sleep problems as you described as "often", you need to resolve the underlying issue, so you're not the target demographic of melatonin by the way you described it.
It works, if you believe in it. Otherwise there is no real biological reason it actually helps.
In addition to a lot of great advice here, I'll add the Physiological Sigh. It is a double breath followed by a long exhale.
Huberman discusses (and demonstrates) it here in the context of reducing stress and anxiety.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSZKIupBUuc
I first heard about it on The Model Health Show where it was mentioned as a natural mechanism for helping one to fall asleep. I can personally attest that it helps.
Definitely better options.
I am sure you have tried lots of things if you have had this issue for awhile but my 2 cents is diet, exercise, and no food or drink near bed time. I break the last rule almost every night with some food before bed. If I have trouble sleeping I find fasting helps. As well as ditching screens at dusk...easier said than done of course.
Hope you get it figured out.
Yeah...to many people are playing fast and loose with hormones these days. Its trendy.
Look up some Matthew Walker (thesleepp scientist) interviews/podcasts. The one on Rogan is great, although little dated by now.
He's obviously, really smart. But moreover, a great storyteller. So definitely a great listen.
His book - Why we sleep is great too. I think that especially the emphasis on the "Why" made it so impactful for me.
if you take more than twice the melotonin dosage and force yourself to stay awake you'll start seeing sleep elves
get 2-5 minutes of outside light (not through glass ) right after waking up. repeat in late afternoon and avoid overhead lighting after 4pm. no pills necessary. your circadian rhythm will befriend you again.
One night of melatonin might help a tiny bit, but if I take it multiple nights in a row, it makes my sleep worse. I avoid all melatonin products.