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Re:Nootropics by elevensies on Tuesday September 20, 2016 @11:08PM (#12545118)
Melatonin has made it possible for me to sleep much more consistently which has been a huge help, since I saw Gwern's post on it a while ago.
Re:Nootropics by throwaway123912 on Tuesday September 20, 2016 @11:59PM (#12545275)
Melatonin has worked wonders for me as well. However it's worth mentioning that the 3mg capsules I bought are WAAAY too strong and cause me to wake up with a dry mouth and a headache after a couple of hours of intense dreaming and nightmares. Instead now I split the caps open and take a tiny fraction of the melatonin every night. It takes me a few weeks to go through a single capsule.
Re:Nootropics by elevensies on Wednesday September 21, 2016 @12:31AM (#12545403)
Interesting, I take 3 or 6 mg per night about an hour before sleep, I've never experienced that but it does make my dreams more vivid and memorable and I wake up from the occasional nightmare as well.
Re:Nootropics by RandomInteger4 on Wednesday September 21, 2016 @01:21AM (#12545612)
Interesting how different doses affect different people differently.

Melatonin works great for me as well. I take 5mg. Not sure if my dreams are any more vivid than without it, as I've been taking it every night for years. I think I've always had vivid dreams, though I no longer get recurring nightmares (which I had years prior to taking melatonin; not sure when they ended).

Re:Nootropics by stormbrew on Wednesday September 21, 2016 @12:53AM (#12545508)
I split the 3mg sublingual tabs into quarters. I often split them again and take part when I go to bed and the other part after reading and getting a bit drowsy. Seems to do some good (N=1 and all that).

I definitely think that if you're taking them under the tongue the doses they sell them in are much too high. Probably make more sense if you're swallowing them.

Re:Nootropics by DanBC on Wednesday September 21, 2016 @01:03AM (#12545544)
Melatonin in the us is weakly regulated so its hard to know hoe much, if any, you're getting.
Re:Nootropics by aidenn0 on Wednesday September 21, 2016 @12:40AM (#12545447)
Trader Joes sells 500mcg tablets.
Re:Nootropics by thatswrong0 on Wednesday September 21, 2016 @01:07AM (#12545555)
Plus they're chewable. Probably the most convenient though a tad expensive.
Re:Nootropics by daveguy on Wednesday September 21, 2016 @12:35AM (#12545428)
Melatonin definitely works for me too. I can take 3/4 mg and have an effect. 3mg and I feel groggy in the morning. Of course, melatonin has been well known for decades.
Re:Nootropics by blhack on Wednesday September 21, 2016 @12:00AM (#12545280)
You should switch to valerian root if you can. It isn't habit forming in the way that melatonin is.

edit: since everybody is asking the same question about habit forming. I am just passing on the information that I got from my doctor. She made this suggestion to me, and it was beneficial to me. Once I had started using melatonin, I would have trouble falling asleep without it. Valarian root didn't cause that issue for me.

Re:Nootropics by daveguy on Wednesday September 21, 2016 @12:38AM (#12545440)
Melatonin is not addictive. You can form a psychological habit with anything, but physical dependence is not an issue.
Re:Nootropics by langseth on Wednesday September 21, 2016 @12:29AM (#12545388)
Yea, pretty sure you are wrong on melatonin being habit forming. Google says it is not: https://www.google.com/search?q=is+melatonin+habit+forming
Re:Nootropics by joshschreuder on Wednesday September 21, 2016 @12:22AM (#12545368)
Can you elaborate on habit forming? From what I've read it's non-addictive.
Re:Nootropics by avianbc on Wednesday September 21, 2016 @12:22AM (#12545367)
I thought that one of the main benefits of melatonin was that it is not habit forming?