That’s a great point! You’re definitely right. I’m seeing somewhere between 10-30% depending on patient population.

That being said, since we are naturally releasing .5mg, another .5mg is already double the normal concentration.

Another major point of consideration though would be formulation, as that is going to have a large effect on the half life of the dose in your system. Even if bioavailability is around physiological concentration at 5mg, the duration of the exposure being much longer than the time it takes for natural release would still have negative impact.

All this being said, definitely never a reason to go above 5mg

Please do! Research has shown that as little as 20 minutes of light therapy in the morning can have positive effects

Hey, I commented elsewhere on this post and I wanted to let you know that the reason it doesn’t help you is likely because all melatonin supplements are way too strong!! Our body is releasing .3-.5mg of melatonin during the evening, and over the counter melatonin ranges from 5mg-20(!!)mg per pill.

As you can see, this is WAY too much for our body, and it saturates every melatonin receptor in the brain resulting in over signaling of these pathways and a tolerance to melatonin. People who consistently take it each night can really mess up the sleep related pathways in the brain, and the desensitization means that the naturally released melatonin is not even close to creating the proper response in the brain.

It can be difficult to find in some places, but if you’d like to use it there are 1mg supplements out there that I would recommend! :)

Absolutely! Additionally, morning sun is another great way to regulate your circadian clock and let your body start its internal timer for melatonin release.

In the winter, I use a light box for seasonal affective disorder, and in addition to feeling much more energized, I find it helps me get more consistent sleep!

You’re on the right track, but funnily enough you got it switched around!

Research shows that melatonin binding leads to downstream release of adenosine, so if caffeine is blocking its binding action sleep is not on the way!

Here’s the paper I am referencing: https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.neuron.2015.02.016

“We find that melatonin promotes sleep downstream of the circadian clock as it is not required to initiate or maintain circadian rhythms. Additionally, we provide evidence that melatonin may induce sleep in part by promoting adenosine signaling, thus potentially linking circadian and homeostatic control of sleep”

That’s great! I really do think 1-1.5mg is the upper limit anyone should use, although it’s still higher than free melatonin concentration in your brain it’s a much more reasonable dose in comparison.

And I think most people who don’t understand melatonin go straight for the 20mg, so we’re probably talking 60+.

It really blows my mind that in this day and age there are no regulations or at the very least warnings or guidelines regarding melatonin supplements.

The gap in FDA policy for prescription drugs vs supplements is vast. Supplements have very few regulations and restrictions that create a lot of potential issues for the uninformed consumer.

0x0 is correct. If it’s a prescribed medication then my comment is not relevant! I am referring to over the counter supplements

FYI, every melatonin supplement is way too high of a dose and is completely saturating your melatonin receptors, leading to tolerance and dependency.

Your body is not producing more than .5mg of melatonin naturally, so taking a 5mg supplement is far too much. And they sell 15-20mg too. If you can find 1mg that’s best; but what’s even better in the long run is not using it!

Won’t someone think of the pollinators?!

Wait…. Uhh… won’t someone think of the students??

Wait… hmm… well, won’t someone think of the administration I guess???