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Melatonin: Much More Than You Wanted to Know

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Re: Melatonin: Much More Than You Wanted to Know

#151

Post by spraak »

elchief wrote: post #14

I used to suffer terrible sleep until recently. Always exhausted in the morning. Sore all over. Missed meetings, or called in sick some days. Would wake up around 11 if I could Now I can wake up around 630 am, lift weights, do HIIT, and be early to work Melatonin wakes me up in the middle of the night. I take Unisom (Doxylamine) as well. Works pretty well in combination I have blackout curtains but I need some light…

Do you drink caffeine? Discontinuing caffeine improved my sleep quality dramatically.

Re: Melatonin: Much More Than You Wanted to Know

#152

Post by spraak »

TACIXAT wrote: post #144

I have cut out sugar and caffeine for dietary reasons and my sleep schedule did not improve at all. I tried those red shift apps and they did not change my sleep schedule. The last few weeks I was not working on my computer late at night and got tired at a reasonable time. Now that I am back working on my side project, having interesting problems to solve (one more feature before bed!) and the bright screen, I am sta…

How long ago did you take out caffeine? I found it took a month for my sleep quality to improve, but once it did it was an amazing difference.

Re: Melatonin: Much More Than You Wanted to Know

#153

Post by anonu »

Couple anecdotal points:

- Used to have to sleep problems - mainly just my mind racing with all the (stress of) things I had to do. The symptoms were trouble sleeping and/or waking in the middle of the night with instant thoughts of projects, task lists.

- Melatonin didn't help me much. Maybe their effect was too subtle on me - maybe I was using the wrong dose as mentioned in the post.

- Magnesium Glycinate pills before sleep were a massive help in falling asleep and staying asleep. The only way I can describe its effects is helping me "control my brain waves". Sounds a bit non-technical but the effect is quite subtle . The idea to take these supplements were from previous discussions on HN.

- Recently got a newborn baby - first child. These things will do more to knock you sleep cycle out whack than anything else I've experienced. Coincidentally, falling asleep and staying asleep is easier than ever. You just end up getting woken up by a tiny crying human at seemingly random times.

Re: Melatonin: Much More Than You Wanted to Know

#154

Post by Sharlin »

anonu wrote: post #153

Couple anecdotal points: - Used to have to sleep problems - mainly just my mind racing with all the (stress of) things I had to do. The symptoms were trouble sleeping and/or waking in the middle of the night with instant thoughts of projects, task lists. - Melatonin didn't help me much. Maybe their effect was too subtle on me - maybe I was using the wrong dose as mentioned in the post. - Magnesium Glycinate pills bef…

There's really no great solution to stress-induced sleep problems except to reduce stress.

Re: Melatonin: Much More Than You Wanted to Know

#155

Post by bg4 »

beagle3 wrote: post #85

While melatonin helped me, the results were inconsistent. However, 10,000IU of vitamin D3 before 10am (see e.g. [0] for discussion and analysis that do NOT support my regime) seem to consistently give me a good reliable sleep schedule. I was definitely not as thorough as Gwern, nor comparing to placebo - but for decades I have tried tens of different sleep aids, most of them useless, some working for a couple of week…

I take 5,000 IU of Vitamin D daily and 3 mg of Melatonin about an hour or so before bed. It has all but cured a lifetime of serious sleep issues.

Re: Melatonin: Much More Than You Wanted to Know

#156

Post by clumsysmurf »

anonu wrote: post #153

Couple anecdotal points: - Used to have to sleep problems - mainly just my mind racing with all the (stress of) things I had to do. The symptoms were trouble sleeping and/or waking in the middle of the night with instant thoughts of projects, task lists. - Melatonin didn't help me much. Maybe their effect was too subtle on me - maybe I was using the wrong dose as mentioned in the post. - Magnesium Glycinate pills bef…

I use Mg Citrate, because it seems pretty bio-available and easy to find. Does the form matter? Maybe I should switch to Glycinate.

Re: Melatonin: Much More Than You Wanted to Know

#157

Post by drakonka »

rofo1 wrote: post #110
drakonka wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am reading this right now as a chronically sleep deprived person and it is terrifying - no less than 7 hours for me from now on.

According to the author, with 7 hours of quality sleep, you are still sleep deprived; after 24 days, you would be sleep deprived in amount equivalent to someone not sleeping 1 full night.

Most of the "oh crap this is really bad" examples provided so far (I'm not done with the book) seem to have been for 6 hours or less, I figured 7 hours is a reasonable absolute minimum. I will aim for eight. However at this rate I'm afraid the more paranoid I get about not getting enough sleep the more difficult it becomes for me to fall asleep. I've never had issues sleeping, but this book coupled with having just moved to an apartment with a train nearby that's taking some getting used to is making me lie in bed and think about needing to sleep for longer before actually drifting off to sleep.

Re: Melatonin: Much More Than You Wanted to Know

#158

Post by TACIXAT »

spraak wrote: post #152
TACIXAT wrote: post #144

I have cut out sugar and caffeine for dietary reasons and my sleep schedule did not improve at all. I tried those red shift apps and they did not change my sleep schedule. The last few weeks I was not working on my computer late at night and got tired at a reasonable time. Now that I am back working on my side project, having interesting problems to solve (one more feature before bed!) and the bright screen, I am sta…

How long ago did you take out caffeine? I found it took a month for my sleep quality to improve, but once it did it was an amazing difference.

I haven't had any for a few years.

Re: Melatonin: Much More Than You Wanted to Know

#159

Post by TACIXAT »

themodelplumber wrote: post #146
TACIXAT wrote: post #144

I have cut out sugar and caffeine for dietary reasons and my sleep schedule did not improve at all. I tried those red shift apps and they did not change my sleep schedule. The last few weeks I was not working on my computer late at night and got tired at a reasonable time. Now that I am back working on my side project, having interesting problems to solve (one more feature before bed!) and the bright screen, I am sta…

I'm not sure I understand, but I want to: Do you become engaged in a project and fall asleep later because it's hard to drop the project, or do you become engaged in a project and use a bright screen and the screen causes you (through some screen-body interface mechanism) to fall asleep later?

It is unknown to me, honestly. Most of the time I am simply not tired, which I blame the screen for. When I do get tired I usually push it even later if I'm working on something good.

Re: Melatonin: Much More Than You Wanted to Know

#160

Post by Mouse47 »

anonu wrote: post #153

Couple anecdotal points: - Used to have to sleep problems - mainly just my mind racing with all the (stress of) things I had to do. The symptoms were trouble sleeping and/or waking in the middle of the night with instant thoughts of projects, task lists. - Melatonin didn't help me much. Maybe their effect was too subtle on me - maybe I was using the wrong dose as mentioned in the post. - Magnesium Glycinate pills bef…

Quick note for anyone reading this about magnesium glycinate: this form of magnesium contains an amino acid called glycine, and we have evidence that glycine can improve sleep quality. According to examine.com, the evidence is "very high" that:

>In persons undergoing mild sleep deprivation, 3g of glycine an hour prior to sleep is able to increase sleep quality and improve self-reports of fatigue and well being the next day due to better sleep.

I take approx. 10g of gelatin a day which also contains glycine, and I also notice improvements in my sleep.

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