Melatonin

[Reckoner]

Just how helpful is it when it comes to falling asleep?

 

[tweakmm]

It never crosses the blood/brain barrier so the answer is not at all.

However, if you believe it works it will because of the placebo effect, sorry that I just ruined it for you.

 

[MichaelD]

Isn't that the pigmentation stuff in your skin that determines your skin color?

Well, I'd imagine:

You have melatonin.
You get a tan.
Skin looks nice and bronzy.
You look Che Sexi.
Girl comes on to you.
Girl goes home with you.
You have Teh Hot Seks.
You sleep really well!

So, I'd say melatonin is very important to falling asleep and sleeping well.

/end scientific breakdown

 

[SSP]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
Isn't that the pigmentation stuff in your skin that determines your skin color?

Well, I'd imagine:

You have melatonin.
You get a tan.
Skin looks nice and bronzy.
You look Che Sexi.
Girl comes on to you.
Girl goes home with you.
You have Teh Hot Seks.
You sleep really well!

So, I'd say melatonin is very important to falling asleep and sleeping well.

/end scientific breakdown

Thats Melanin.

 

[ForumMaster]

no you're thinking of melanin. melatonin is a chemical that is released by the brain after a couple of hours of sleep but only if the sleep was in complete darkness. it can supposedly help against cancer. i just know this cause my mom studies melatonin.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: SSP

Originally posted by: MichaelD
Isn't that the pigmentation stuff in your skin that determines your skin color?

Well, I'd imagine:

You have melatonin.
You get a tan.
Skin looks nice and bronzy.
You look Che Sexi.
Girl comes on to you.
Girl goes home with you.
You have Teh Hot Seks.
You sleep really well!

So, I'd say melatonin is very important to falling asleep and sleeping well.

/end scientific breakdown

Thats Melanin.

Damn.

/I got owned

 

[drum]

i think we're all confused. :laugh:

 

[Juice Box]

The first night I tried Melatonin (was during a period when I could never fall right asleep) it worked WONDERS!! I took it 20 min before bed, and got 8 hours....i swear I have never woken up more refreshed in my life...it was truly amazing. The more you take it, as the case with most medicines, the less it does. Nowadays I take it only when i need/want to have a good night's rest..and it does it's job. Ive reccomended it to friends who say it does nothing for them, so YMMV...but it works amazing for me!

 

[tweakmm]

Originally posted by: Juice Box
The first night I tried Melatonin (was during a period when I could never fall right asleep) it worked WONDERS!! I took it 20 min before bed, and got 8 hours....i swear I have never woken up more refreshed in my life...it was truly amazing. The more you take it, as the case with most medicines, the less it does. Nowadays I take it only when i need/want to have a good night's rest..and it does it's job. Ive reccomended it to friends who say it does nothing for them, so YMMV...but it works amazing for me!

All in your head sir.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: Juice Box
The first night I tried Melatonin (was during a period when I could never fall right asleep) it worked WONDERS!! I took it 20 min before bed, and got 8 hours....i swear I have never woken up more refreshed in my life...it was truly amazing. The more you take it, as the case with most medicines, the less it does. Nowadays I take it only when i need/want to have a good night's rest..and it does it's job. Ive reccomended it to friends who say it does nothing for them, so YMMV...but it works amazing for me!

Where can I score some of this sleep aid with apparently no side effects?

~OR~

The politically correct, ATOT version:

Sounds so interesting! Should I approach my Primary Care Provider about the possibility of my obtaining a prescription for this apparently very powerful, and possibly dangerous, psychotropic medication?

 

[tweakmm]

Originally posted by: MichaelD

Originally posted by: Juice Box
The first night I tried Melatonin (was during a period when I could never fall right asleep) it worked WONDERS!! I took it 20 min before bed, and got 8 hours....i swear I have never woken up more refreshed in my life...it was truly amazing. The more you take it, as the case with most medicines, the less it does. Nowadays I take it only when i need/want to have a good night's rest..and it does it's job. Ive reccomended it to friends who say it does nothing for them, so YMMV...but it works amazing for me!

Where can I score some of this sleep aid with apparently no side effects?

Any GNC, but I wouldn't bother.

 

[Reckoner]

Originally posted by: MichaelD

Originally posted by: Juice Box
The first night I tried Melatonin (was during a period when I could never fall right asleep) it worked WONDERS!! I took it 20 min before bed, and got 8 hours....i swear I have never woken up more refreshed in my life...it was truly amazing. The more you take it, as the case with most medicines, the less it does. Nowadays I take it only when i need/want to have a good night's rest..and it does it's job. Ive reccomended it to friends who say it does nothing for them, so YMMV...but it works amazing for me!

Where can I score some of this sleep aid with apparently no side effects?

I got some at the local pharmacy (Brooks). It's in the supplements section. Natrol Melatonin is what I got.

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks for the info, guys.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: tweakmm

All in your head sir.

That's not what my doctor says. Where are you getting this information? My own experience has been that melatonin is highly effective. I'm amenable to being talked into the idea this is a placebo effect, but I'm skeptical given that I've discussed melatonin with more than one doctor, and none of them have said any such thing.

EDIT: Here is some info on melatonin, including the following:

Zhdanova (1995) conducted a study of healthy males with normal sleeping habits to determine the effects of melatonin on their sleeping patterns. The study was a double-blind placebo controlled experiment in three phases. All of the males were drug free, did not smoke and had an average diet. The average age of the subject was 26 years old. Zhdanova found that there was a large difference between the effects of melatonin and the placebo. The subjects who had the melatonin took a shorter time to fall asleep than those who had the placebo. The subjects fell asleep around 40 minutes faster than they usually did. The size of the dosage did not seem to matter. The lower dosages of melatonin worked as well as the larger ones. The dosage worked at 1 mg. The best time to administer the dosage was around an hour before bedtime. The subjects did not find any negative side-effects. The melatonin worked well in all cases.

* * *

Many studies have been done on melatonin's effects on the sleep cycle and on jet-lag. Most of the studies have shown positive results. The individuals experienced very few negative side-effects and found themselves in a better mood because they were well rested.

 

[tweakmm]

Originally posted by: DonVito

Originally posted by: tweakmm

All in your head sir.

That's not what my doctor says. Where are you getting this information? My own experience has been that melatonin is highly effective. I'm amenable to being talked into the idea this is a placebo effect, but I'm skeptical given that I've discussed melatonin with more than one doctor, and none of them have said any such thing.

I'm having trouble finding info on it now, but I read several things about it when the studies were complete. The findings are very recent, as in, within this year.

Melatonin does help one get to sleep, but taken oraly it just isn't active because it does not pass the blood brain barrier.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: tweakmm

I'm having trouble finding info on it now, but I read several things about it when the studies were complete. The findings are very recent, as in, within this year.

Melatonin does help one get to sleep, but taken oraly it just isn't active because it does not pass the blood brain barrier.

That seems contradictory to the information I already posted, and certainly contrary to my own experience.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: tweakmm

Originally posted by: DonVito

Originally posted by: tweakmm

All in your head sir.

That's not what my doctor says. Where are you getting this information? My own experience has been that melatonin is highly effective. I'm amenable to being talked into the idea this is a placebo effect, but I'm skeptical given that I've discussed melatonin with more than one doctor, and none of them have said any such thing.

I'm having trouble finding info on it now, but I read several things about it when the studies were complete. The findings are very recent, as in, within this year.

Melatonin does help one get to sleep, but taken oraly it just isn't active because it does not pass the blood brain barrier.

Do you have any references that suggest this? Everything I found suggests otherwise.

 

[tweakmm]

Originally posted by: DonVito

Originally posted by: tweakmm

I'm having trouble finding info on it now, but I read several things about it when the studies were complete. The findings are very recent, as in, within this year.

Melatonin does help one get to sleep, but taken oraly it just isn't active because it does not pass the blood brain barrier.

That seems contradictory to the information I already posted, and certainly contrary to my own experience.

http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/node/4905
http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2004/melatnpr.htm

What I could find so far.

 

[mayest]

I took this stuff for awhile several years ago when it was popular. It didn't help me fall asleep any more quickly, but I did feel more refreshed when waking up.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: tweakmm

http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/node/4905
http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2004/melatnpr.htm

What I could find so far.

Even the links you posted don't say it has no effect - they just say it is only helpful for some sleep-related issues. They say nothing at all about the blood-brain barrier.

 

[tweakmm]

Originally posted by: DonVito

Originally posted by: tweakmm

http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/node/4905
http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2004/melatnpr.htm

What I could find so far.

Even the links you posted don't say it has no effect - they just say it is only helpful for some sleep-related issues. They say nothing at all about the blood-brain barrier.

Quite true, I can't recall where I heard that.

What I got from the studies is that if there is a cause for the insomia, melatonin is not going to work but if one is just having trouble sleeping melatonin does work but not that well, certainly not as well as everyone and their mom seems to think.

 

[flexy]

for sleeping right now i am taking one (generic) benadryl and one melatonin....works wonders....but i think the melatonin ALONE doesn't do anything - the one time i only took the melatonin i had trouble falling asleep
I really dont know if/whether melatonin does anything....maybe it contributes to better sleep...or maybe it doesn't do anything

 

[Accipiter22]

Originally posted by: tweakmm
It never crosses the blood/brain barrier so the answer is not at all.

However, if you believe it works it will because of the placebo effect, sorry that I just ruined it for you.

There's more than the blood/brain barrier involved in this.