# Healing and Wellbeing > General Health >  >  Insomnia: Melatonin

## lionlioncatcat

Due to some other issues, I often have terrible insomniam and skip a night sleep alltogethor quite often. Benzos and the like definitely get me to sleep, but has anyone else had success with melatonin. Its over the counter, and seems to work by reseting the  "body clock" rather than making you feel sleepy.

If anyone else has had success with it, how many mg do you take, and how long before you go to sleep? And do any of you experience side effects like weird dreams, and being really grouchy next morning ?

Lioncat

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## Ironman

I have - I have the regular tablet form (3mg) and then the MidNite product that dissolves in the mouth for quick action.
A lot of the time, I take half a melatonin tablet - it puts me to sleep with the Paxil I take at night.

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## Skippy

I've tried it before for sleep. Works pretty well, but I found I always woke up really groggy. Makes ya sleep looong and good tho when it works.

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## RenoBill

For me, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  Depends on how much
my mind is wound up.  I find if I read and listen to quiet music for about an
hour before bedtime, that really helps.  I also sometimes use a 4 or 8 mg 
antihistimine tablet to make me sleepy before bed, that also does help.

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## WintersTale

I was on the 3MG per night, and that was too much. I felt incredibly sick the next day, although I _did_ sleep!

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## CityofAngels

It makes you feel sleepy, I don't know where this body clock thing comes from. It also makes your dreams more vivid and memorable. If you take it every night though you start to feel like dogcrap and it doesn't help you sleep anymore.

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## Ironman

Melatonin is good to have as long as it is not persistently used.  
Underneath it all, we still need to work on relaxing by ourselves.

During SA spikes, though, I will take melatonin.  I took 1.5 mg and it worked well with the Paxil.  After a day or two, I no longer needed it.

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## WineKitty

I was using it until I read about how it slows the body's own production of melatonin.

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## Cage

> I was using it until I read about how it slows the body's own production of melatonin.



Can you show a link to this? That is pretty scary.

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## Firefly09

On a short term basis, melatonin may work for you---or it may not. Everyone is different. However, it is a hormone that your pineal gland naturally produces. It is generally not recommended on a long-term basis. Otherwise, your pineal gland might get "lazy" and make less melatonin on its own. (scary!)

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## WintersTale

> I was using it until I read about how it slows the body's own production of melatonin.



Really? That is pretty scary.

I don't know why doctors would advise you to use it, if it's bad for your health?

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