
Melatonin: Much More Than You Wanted to Know - lainon
http://slatestarcodex.com/2018/07/10/melatonin-much-more-than-you-wanted-to-know/
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robbyt
One bit that's missing from the article is a warning about taking it too
often, or at too high of dose. It does recommend taking only .3mg, but it
doesn't warn you how "hungover" you will feel if you take too much.

I tried a 5mg pill once, and felt really awful the next day. Just like any
drug, start with small doses.

I've also read how it's possible to develop a dependency if you take it too
often. Your body becomes used to the supplement, and natural production is
reduced.

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pdfernhout
Sleep: Much More Than You Wanted to Know (in a good way):
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34466963-why-we-
sleep](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34466963-why-we-sleep)

That Sleep book by Matthew Walker has a good explanation of how sleep-related
hormones (including melatonin) and such work -- and how to get better and
longer sleep.

More seriously though, the melatonin article was useful to me as we decided we
were using melatonin incorrectly with our dog to reduce early morning barking
(too high a dose even though it was what it the bottle advised, too early) --
and so we stopped giving it to her entirely.

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ValentineC
I like gwern's analysis on melatonin:
[https://www.gwern.net/Melatonin](https://www.gwern.net/Melatonin)

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floatingatoll
What do you like about it?

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kup0
I haven't had a need to take Melatonin in a long time, but the last time I
took a small dose (fraction of a 1mg gummy), 30 minutes later I got really
cold and then could not keep my eyes open, it basically knocked me out. It was
very uncomfortable (especially the feeling that I couldn't fight to stay
awake) but it worked.

Scared me off of the stuff for good. Thankfully, over time I've gotten to
where I don't have sleep issues anymore other than those I self-inflict (late
nights). I still wonder if somehow I really psyched myself into a placebo
effect or something, because I rarely hear of this happening when people take
it.

MIT has done some studies that show smaller doses are in-fact just as (or
more) effective than larger ones:
[http://news.mit.edu/1999/melatonin-1103](http://news.mit.edu/1999/melatonin-1103)

And studies mentioned in this article seem to agree with that conclusion
(0.3mg being an optimal dose)

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Gatsky
Agree re jet lag, works really well. Interesting that the ‘correct’ dose is so
low (0.3mg)

