Reddit reviews Sundown Melatonin 300 mcg, 120 Tablets (Packaging May Vary) Drug-Free Sleep Aid* Vegetarian, Non-GMOˆ, Free of Gluten, Dairy, Artificial Flavors

I was told by a neurologist that anything over 300 mcg (micrograms) will either offer no benefit up to 1mg and cause sleep problems above 2mg. He told me that 5mg pills aren't going to hurt you, but are sold to the American "bigger must be better" buyer.

I've not tried time release, but I limit my caffiene after noon and take half a 1mg tablet.

They do sell 300mcg melatonin, I can't help but think there's a reason for that.

I'm a fan of: https://www.amazon.com/Sundown-Naturals-Melatonin-300-Tablets/dp/B000GG2I9O?th=1

You'd think people and especially doctors would want to go with the minimum effective dose as supported by the literature, but the mentality of "if a little is good, a lot must be great!" is so common.

I like this one. The reason is that most melatonin supplements are in the range of 1mg+, when research shows that more is not better (and in fact can be counter productive). Optimal for men is ~250-300 mcg.

Take it 30min before bed and turn off your electronics (blue light = stimulant).

LOL I made a mistake it's 300 mcg not 3. I use this product: https://www.amazon.com/Sundown-Naturals-Melatonin-300-Tablets/dp/B000GG2I9O/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1521575135&sr=8-3&keywords=300+mcg+melatonin

I use Sundown 0.3mg, works like a charm. Larger doses leave me groggy the next day.

Sundown Naturals makes a cheap 300 mcg melatonin that you can buy from multiple places including Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000GG2I9O/ref=sxts_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1540152813&sr=1

Not meat-head but I've had the same results. I take 100 mg of Magnesium chelated and 300 mcg (0.3 mg) of melatonin each night and it makes a big difference. This is what I use:

• https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GG2I9O/
  
• https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BD0RT0/
  
  I also add a scoop of powdered Mangesium Citrate to my breakfast shakes which also seems to make a big difference.
  
  Magensium is a very important enzyme cofactor in more than 300 biochemical processes. Most people don't get nearly enough. I supplement since magnesium rich foods don't seem to have nearly enough for me of an effect for me.
  
  You can read more about magnesium deficiency and human health here: http://openheart.bmj.com/content/5/1/e000668
  

High doses reccomendations were based on flawed research on people who weren't producing enough natural melatonin. That dosage will just blow out your natural production of the hormone.

An effective dose is measured in the Micrograms and is best taken about 5 hours before you want to go to sleep instead of right before bed. Scott even wrote a good summary of the state of research on it. Here's the dosage I use

I used to hate it (sluggish/brain fog all day after) until I discovered these. I take it a few hours before I want to fall asleep and it knocks me out faster than the higher doses ever did. As long as I get enough sleep (7-8 hours) I have no noticeable side effects.

Don't quote me on this, but I remember reading that the 3mg+ doses were based on a misreading of the original study and companies just ran with it.

yeah, I take 300 mcg nightly and it's plenty. even bumping to 600mcg makes for a noticeably more dreary awakening.

http://amzn.com/B000GG2I9O

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000GG2I9O/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1491099920&sr=8-1&keywords=low+dose+melatonin

I was off on my recommendation. I actually meant 300 micrograms. This is the one I take. Also they sell gummy melatonin at Walmart they are 1.5 milligrams a piece so if you cut them in to thirds it's about the right dose.

> Also, put your phone and screens away 30-40 minutes beforehand. If you need sound, put on an audiobook or sounds.

Try blue blocking glasses. I've been using these for over a year. 1 hour before I want to sleep, I take 1 melatonin, 2 magnesium, and browse reddit on my tablet for an hour wearing my glasses.

This routine works pretty well for me. Half the time I don't even last the hour before I roll over to sleep.

Whereas a stuffed stomach makes you sluggish within thirty minutes. At least coffee gives you a few hours.

But it honestly, it sounds like you might have an underlying condition. If it's insomnia, here's a ProTip: melatonin can't knock you out. So the proper way to take it is a tiny dose at dinner (try this), which will trigger your body to make its own melatonin at bedtime. Then you'll fall and/or stay asleep. CBT-i is helpful too.

https://examine.com/supplements/melatonin/

>For regulating the sleep cycle, doses of melatonin between 500mcg (0.5mg) and 5mg seem to work. Start with 500mcg, and if it doesn’t work, work up to 3-5mg. The benefits of melatonin are not dose-dependent - taking more will not help you fall asleep faster.

For most people, <1mg doses are enough to regulate and improve sleep. More than that and you risk building dependence on it to sleep.

http://news.mit.edu/2001/melatonin-1017

>According to our research, the physiological dose of melatonin of about 0.3 milligrams restores sleep in adults over the age of 50," said Wurtman, lead investigator in the study. "The adults who would normally wake up during the second and third thirds of the night were able to sleep through the night with the 0.3 milligram dosage."

>The researchers also discovered that the typical health food store dosage of melatonin, which is about three milligrams (or 10 times the dosage in the study), is less effective in treating insomnia. In addition, the higher dosage can cause potentially serious side effects, including hypothermia (low body temperature). The study also showed that the higher dosage elevated plasma melatonin levels during the day, which can cause a "hangover" effect in some of the subjects.

As for brands, I use this brand. It should be available at any local Kroger, CVS, etc.

I have bipolar 2 and am on meds, but use supplements to support me.

This website has comprehensive information about lifestyle and supplements that make a difference. I highly recommend that you explore it completely. (It looks clunky/unsophisticated, however I have researched the MD who created it and he is respected in the field...although considered a bit of cowboy.)

Fundamentals you may have already addressed: Exercise, bipolar specific cognitive behavioral therapy, establishing a consistent daily routine (an ongoing process for me).

Most effective for depression is light therapy; it can actually trigger mania, so be careful. It has rarely failed me. I use a dawn stimulator and morning lightbox. The combination of light and dark therapy I think is ideal but I haven't added dark therapy (I'm on reddit at night and can't break the habit).

Re: your stack:

• Make sure you are taking a EPA /DHA combo of at least 60%. And the DHA is important. Don't just take EPA.
  
• Assume you're on methylfolate 15mg?
  
• Probiotic: I'm not familiar with Symprove. However you need to choose the probiotic strains (name and number) that have research backed evidence of helping with depression. I used the resources of r/HumanMicrobiome and this spreadsheet to choose these strains to take: Lactobacillus casei DN-114001 - mood (NOW probiotic-10). Bifido. Longum/Infantis 35624 - Immune modulation incl. TNF, IL-6, CRP, depression (Align Digestive Support) because there was crossover with my other problem, rheumatoid arthritis. With some work, you can find something specific for you.
  
  Personally, I would stop all supplements except methyfolate, NAC, fish oil (EPA/DHA >60%) and maybe theanine if it helps you sleep. Add a light box in AM. Make sure you are taking melatonin 300 mcg (not more than that) every night (add a low dose time release melatonin if you still wake at night.) Give it one month of consistent use then re-evaluate.
  
  Good luck and feel free to DM me!

OP, melatonin recommended dose is 0.3 mg, it is possible you are taking too much. Try a lower dose ( https://www.amazon.com/Sundown-Naturals-Melatonin-300-Tablets/dp/B000GG2I9O/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1Q4PAGEA2OU8R&keywords=melatonin+0.3+mg&qid=1566836962&s=gateway&sprefix=melatonin+0.3%2Caps%2C137&sr=8-4 )

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I take 0.3 mg melatonin and 200mg L-Theanine. I am sleeping way better now. Like you, would sleep about 4 hours and wake up in the middle of the night.

3 mg is a bit high, according to most clinical studies (most studies use a range of 0.3 to 3mg or 0.5 to 5mg, though there are a few that go higher). Since melatonin has a flat dose response curve there is no added benefit once you get above the active threshold, so the recommendation is to use the smallest effective dose, which varies from person to person. When I started taking it (under the guidance of a sleep therapist) 3 mg was the highest dose on the shelves, but now I see 5 and even 10 mg tablets, a sad outcome of the intersection of the unregulated supplements industry and the "more must be better" consumer mindset.

I use 0.3 mg when I take it (rare, since even that dose interferes with my quality of sleep). My son doesn't respond at 0.3 but does well with 0.6 mg. FWIW I use this brand: http://www.amazon.com/Sundown-Naturals-Melatonin-Tablets-tablets/dp/B000GG2I9O/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1426810250&sr=8-2&keywords=melatonin+0.3+mg

https://www.amazon.com/Sundown-Naturals-Melatonin-300-Tablets/dp/B000GG2I9O/

Ideas about your current stack:

Maybe drop the oxiracetam for a while, I've read a few anecdotes on the racetams (and also bacopa, interestingly enough) about them "dulling" your emotions, while not always a bad thing, it can be to a degree in some people.

Consider going half alpha-gpc and half cdp-choline (300mg alpha-gpc, 250mg cdp-choline) here or here, some people notice more benefit with CDP-choline for mood

Switch out your multivitamin, ashwagandha, b-complex, zinc, next time in favour of Legion Triumph. It's got a few adaptogens in it (lavender, rhodiola, garlic might be one too, a small amount of acetylcysteine)

Drop the caffeine for a while and just try the theanine on it's own. A lot of people don't realize that caffeine can have a negative impact on your mood when used regularly, and not intermittently (a few times a week)

10,000IU of Vitamin D long term might be excessive, try tapering down to 5000IU (and Triumph also has 2000IU in it right now, so maybe even just 1000-3000IU or from an independent supplement)

Definitely drop the yohimbe/yohimbine. Maca can be good, tribulus I've read reports of it negatively effecting mood in people as well (agitation/irritability).

For the zinc/magnesium, they're both good, but if you're already getting enough zinc in your multi, you might be overdoing it. Magnesium is fine in large doses (as long as you don't get diarrhea! Then split up your doses more).

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Obviously the light box will help. I'd also advise some quick HIIT in the morning time (4 sets of 10-20 squats as fast as possible, depending on your level of activity, with minimal rests in between) to get you up and about for the day. You can even do squats, push ups, glute bridges, and burpees, or something (one or two sets of each). This will take the absolute piss out of you for 5-10 minutes after, but that's a perfect opportunity to stand in the shower and pant like a dying dog.

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Improve your sleep too! It's not just about getting up and doing crap, make sure you're sleeping at least 7 hours a day, or try for the next two weeks getting at least one hour more of sleep every single day, and see how that makes you feel. Get flux/twilight all that crap, turn off all the brightness on your laptops/phones after it gets dark outside, turn off the lights in your room 1-2 hours before bed, all that jazz.

If you're drinking heavily (14+ standard drinks a week in men, or 9+ in women) or even drinking to help you get to sleep some nights, definitely stop doing that. Even if it isn't to improve your sleep, it's got a shit load of negative health effects. Same thing goes with smoking, but it can be hard to quit/reduce both of these things. Try to avoid smoking/drinking less than 3 hours before bed, at least. Also avoid doing the same 3 hours after waking up.

Definitely avoid caffeine within 8 hours of bed time. Honestly I think cutting this out for a couple of weeks might help a decent amount (cutting out yohimbine more)

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Next comes potential supplements:

Taurine, 1-3g/day (I prefer to take 1g pre-workout and 1g at night before bed) here or here (or much much much cheaper in bulk from powder city)

Inositol 0.5-2g/day (some people notice it actually reduces the drive to do things in higher doses. here or here <--- you can also just eat more citrus fruits instead (oranges or cantaloupes are good sources), some grains are also good sources. <--- consider taking the same time as taurine

Acetylcysteine (0.6-2.4g/day), I take 0.6g in the morning and 0.6 around dinner time, I've noticed it's help a shit ton with my cravings for cigarettes too. It's a decent mood stabilizer in general, and glutamate excitoxicity = bad news bears for a lot of things. here or here. Also much cheaper in bulk, but whereas taurine/inositol have a pleasant taste, acetylcysteine smells and tastes a little bit like rotting eggs (sulfur smell, although it's funny taurine doesn't have that)...

Melatonin, 300mcg at night here or here (try this even if you feel like you sleep fine, seriously)

You could also consider switching out your oxiracetam for some ALCAR/Carnitine (at 0.5-2g/day, avoiding it later in the evening) and Carnitine also might have some mild mood boosting effects in addition to it's cognitive benefits, and exercise benefits.

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Oh if you'd like, you can use my coupon code from iherb for some $5 off your first order, it's JIT328... but a decent amount of this crap is actually cheaper on amazon if you buy it from there (or in bulk from other places like powdercity), so just do whatever is cheapest for you.

Additional tip: Melatonin's effectiveness does NOT scale with dosage. In fact its often the opposite: for a stronger effect take a smaller amount. For a while I was using melatonin to help get to sleep, and would take 300 mcg (that's micrograms, not milligrams) tablets, which can be kind of hard to find. Amazon has them, non-affiliate link: http://www.amazon.com/Sundown-Naturals-Melatonin-Tablets-tablets/dp/B000GG2I9O

Most of the melatonin you'll find in a drug store is somewhere around 3 to 10 mg (milligrams), which is way too much.

Also: take it more like 2 - 3 hours before your desired bedtime.

You can find 300mcg melatonin tablets: http://www.amazon.com/Sundown-Naturals-Melatonin-Tablets-tablets/dp/B000GG2I9O

These work well for me. Although apparently only available from 3rd party sellers right now.

I actually have used melatonin in many forms and doses. There was some sort of research about the effective dose of melatonin being far lass than what is normally sold..

I take this Sundown Melatonin 300 mcg, 120 Tablets (Packaging May Vary) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000GG2I9O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_k1i3DbF5Q60V9

Not sure other people’s experiences but this has worked just as good if not more than any quick dissolve, gummy, liquid melatonin fat higher doses


I also have used unisom that works awesome as wlel

Got it, I'm assuming you're not in the US (otherwise: https://smile.amazon.com/Sundown-Naturals-Melatonin-300-Tablets/dp/B000GG2I9O/).

One other thing you can try in the meantime is splitting the pills in half (or into four). Assuming they're not extended-release/time-release, splitting them physically in half should safely give you roughly half the dose (even if you split into four and the doses end up being 0.5mg/1mg/1.5mg/2mg due to inconsistent distribution, all doses should be safe/better than 5mg. But more likely it will be more like 1mg/1.3mg/1.3mg/1.4mg).

I think I remember reading something about how MIT had patented that dosage and that's just the way they get around it. But - you can actually buy it at the proper dosage, here's what I went with: https://www.amazon.com/Sundown-Naturals-Melatonin-300-Tablets/dp/B000GG2I9O?th=1


Super cheap, and if you find 1 doesn't do the trick, no harm in taking 2 every now and then

https://www.amazon.com/Sundown-Naturals-Melatonin-300-Tablets/dp/B000GG2I9O/ is what I got after I got tired of gnawing bits off tablets.

Up until earlier this year, I had been taking 3mg of meletonin for about 6months and it didn't really seem to be doing much. My sleep specialist then told me to drop down to 300mcg (0.3mg) as new research has shown that less can be more. I did a bit more research and it seemed to back her up, though I didn't look into it too much.

Supposedly, 0.3mg is the amount that the body naturally produces to signal sleep. That does was restricted to a specific prescription brand due to patenting, and people tend to believe that "more is better" with supplements, thus the really high doses you can get. After switching to the lower dose, my mood improved a bit during the day and it feels as if my sleep is a bit more regulated (I also have non-24, so nothing really helps everything). Doses greater than 1mg are reported to increase daytime drowsiness and depression, though they will often knock some people right out.

Do your research, and it's a supplement so regulation isn't the greatest. I take this

If you're struggling to get 8 hours a night, you can focus on deepening the sleep you do get instead of sleeping longer.

• Black out your room at night. This is the biggest one for me. I have cheap blackout shades and I use electrical tape to cover internet routers, smoke alarms - anything that flashes. Get your room dark enough that you can't see your hand in front of your face. Even a little light will fuck with your melatonin production and compromise your sleep quality.
  
  
  
• If you use electronics at night, download f.lux. It's a free program that removes blue light from your monitor after the sun sets. Your phone should have night mode under settings; turn that on as well. Light in the blue spectrum is the biggest melatonin disruptor.
  
  
  
• Take 400 mg of magnesium citrate or magnesium glycinate before bed. It eases stress and causes a dramatic increase in sleep quality. Plus, a good percentage of the population is deficient in magnesium, so you could probably use a little extra anyway. If you go for magnesium citrate, start at 200 mg and move up to 400 mg over the course of a couple days. Too much at once will make you shit your pants. Glycinate doesn't have that issue, but isn't quite as bioavailable.
  
  
  
• Take 300 mcg of melatonin right before bed. Melatonin is a hormone your body uses to encourage deep sleep, and taking it in pill form will knock you right out. It's prescription in the UK, over-the-counter in the US. Most doses are far too high (2-10 mg), and can impair your natural melatonin production if you take them regularly without a break. Stick with 300mcg (linked above); it's the minimum effective dose and won't mess with your hormones long-term.
  
  
• I also drink kava tea on nights when I really can't sleep. It's more for stress relief/anxiety than for sleep, but if you find you have trouble winding down at night it can be a big help. Don't drink alcohol alongside kava; the active compounds, kavalactones, bind to the same brain receptors that alcohol does, meaning the effects of the two stack.
  
  
• Don't take sleeping pills if you can avoid them. I'm not a doctor, and I'm not saying you should ignore your doctor, but sleeping pills don't actually put you into stage 3 and stage 4 sleep (the deep, restorative sleep your brain needs). They can also cause a lot of neurological side effects.
  
  Source: neuroscientist who focused on psychopharmacology and sleep when I was getting my degree.

Found these

https://www.amazon.com/Life-Extension-Melatonin-Released-Vegetarian/dp/B00CDABRUW/ref=sr_1_4_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1539804344&sr=8-4&keywords=melatonin+mcg

any benefit to time release formulation? otherwise they're dirt cheap here:

https://www.amazon.com/Sundown-Naturals-Melatonin-300-Tablets/dp/B000GG2I9O/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1539804344&sr=8-3&keywords=melatonin+mcg

FYI, there are convenient 0.3 mg pills available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sundown-Naturals-Melatonin-300-Tablets/dp/B000GG2I9O/
I take the same dosage myself, and find these to be very effective.

I don't think more is necessarily better. I'm 6'1"/185lbs and I take 600mcg a night and that works nicely for me.

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It's hard if not impossible to find the small dosage ones in stores, so I ordered 300mcg tablets on amazon and take 2.

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heres the ones I have:

https://www.amazon.com/Sundown-Naturals-Melatonin-300-Tablets/dp/B000GG2I9O/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_121_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=5KWC0WVHS7BBM9T0NJJ8

Melatonin seems to make me fall asleep faster and improve sleep quality, it depends a lot on the dose/person i guess. People with adhd produce more melatonin on stims, because the brain doesn't produce enough melatonin without adequate dopamine levels. I'm not sure how stims affect melatonin in neurotypicals or high dosages.

I use the 300mcg pills, I would recommend trying these first since you can pretty much only find overdosed pills at the store (its probably cheaper to put 10mg in a pill than 0.3mg i guess, and they're not required to put overdose risk label on supplements).

https://www.amazon.com/Sundown-Naturals-Melatonin-300-Tablets/dp/B000GG2I9O/ref=sr_1_2_a_it?th=1