Too much of anything can be bad for you. We know how much people love their melatonin and we also know the brilliant effects of it to help you sleep, up your immune system and rejuvenate your body. Basically, it’s awesome. But the awesome comes in the appropriate doses and it’s something to keep in mind.
Slow your “instant gratification” roll
It’s like losing weight. You want to lose weight and you want to lose it fast. Okay. Not really gonna happen in a healthy way, but we know how that goes. So you stop eating and at first, you can see a difference. But sooner or later your body is all, “Say… I’m not getting anything so I’m going to hold onto EVERYTHING.” And the fat you thought you’d lose gets stored in there to protect itself.
Bummer.
The same with sleep and supplements. More is not necessarily better. Sometimes more is literally just too much. That’s what happens with melatonin. Sleep is such a rare commodity for the folks who turn to it as a solution to help with jet lag, insomnia, or any slumber related issue that the thought is, “Hey, let’s take a ton of it and it’ll be okay.” Nope. Wrong. Because what happens the morning after the melatonin night before is akin to a hangover — irritated, daytime drowsy, kind of anxious, depressed, just all kinds of wrong negating what you had hoped to achieve.
Adjust rather than toss
Okay, now, hold up, and take a deep breath. Before you decide to throw away all that melatonin you just bought, wait. Melatonin may very well still be your friend but in moderation. The only way to get beyond your melatonin hangover is to allow it to make its way out of your bloodstream. This is, of course, if you’re already in the throes of your morning after the melatonin night before. You can alleviate these little hangovers in the future by being better about how and when you take it depending on your sleep issue.
If you’re a basic troubled sleeper — kind of tossy-turny from time to time, having a bit of difficulty getting your snooze on — then it’s recommended you take a low dose of melatonin 30 minutes before bedtime. If you’re one of those who stays up really late but has to get up early in the morning, taking it two hours before you go to sleep seems to work. Now, weirdly, some people who have advanced sleep issues need to take it in the morning, but getting the skinny on how that works is a doctor thing and we’re not doctors. If you’re having serious sleep problems, well, you need to be good to yourself and go see your preferred health professional — holistic, traditional, whatever makes you happy.
Embrace options
Managing the timing and dosage of your melatonin can be really helpful in getting rid of any sort of hangover. You want to feel better, not worse; refreshed, not fuzzy when you get up. Always remember that a little goes a long way.
Another way to alleviate that melatonin fuzziness is by taking a sleep aid that combines it with other natural slumber inducing supplements. Our Sleep Stripzzz, for example, incorporates a low 1.5 mg dose of this natural hormone with such things as serotonin, l-theanine, GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid), and other holistic snooze helpers. The form it takes is what’s called “oral soluble film technology” (dontcha just love science?), which basically means you pop it on your tongue, it dissolves — no water needed — and it works faster than swallowing or chewing anything. This blend of different, soothing ingredients combined with the fact that each strip is user friendly and no fuss makes getting the rest you need that much easier and without that morning drag that can come when taking melatonin by itself.
Getting a good night’s rest is vital for your health and well-being, and some of us need a little boost sometimes to help us sleep easier. If that’s ever you, doing so naturally just feels better. By getting a clearer understanding of how Mother Nature’s slumber aids work can certainly make taking that little something to make slipping into dreamland even more successful.
Sleep tight.
