Getting to sleep isn’t always easy, especially when your daily life is stressful or busy. For some people, the use of melatonin supplements is helpful.
What Is Melatonin?
Melatonin is a hormone produced by the body that plays a role in sleep. Taking a supplement may mean better quality or more sleep when the body isn’t producing enough melatonin on its own.
What Are the Benefits of Melatonin?
Melatonin may help to promote sleep when used for the short term. It can do this by working against delayed sleep phases and disorders related to the circadian rhythm. Some people may see benefits and relief from insomnia with a melatonin supplement. How your body reacts could be a bit different, though.
Some reasons people may experience sleep issues that benefit from taking melatonin include:
- Switches to work schedules
- Daylight savings time adjustment
- Jet lag or travel
- Medical conditions that cause wakefulness such as circadian rhythm sleep disorders associated with blindness
What Are the Side Effects of Taking Melatonin?
When asking, “Is melatonin right for me?” it’s important to factor in the potential side effects. Oral supplements are generally safe.
However, some people have symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, headaches, and drowsiness. Some rare symptoms to consider may include mild anxiety, feelings of depression, abdominal cramps, and reduced alertness.
Ultimately, to know if you should take it, it’s best to ask your healthcare provider. Don’t assume it’s safe for you if you use other medications.
Who Shouldn’t Take Melatonin?
There are a number of significant potential interactions, including anticonvulsants, anticoagulants, blood pressure medications, and central nervous system depressants.
It can also interfere with contraceptive drugs, seizure threshold lowering drugs, and immunosuppressants. If you take prescription medication of any type, consult with your doctor before using this product.
Also, melatonin may help you get more sleep. Still, it may not deal with any underlying condition causing this, such as sleep cycle disorders, insomnia, mental health issues, or sleep apnea. Be sure to work closely with your doctor to overcome those challenges.
How to Take Melatonin
There are a variety of types of supplements available, including melatonin gummies and traditional capsules. It’s a good idea to choose a type that you feel comfortable with and then follow your doctor’s or the manufacturer’s recommendations for use.
When taking melatonin supplements, monitor your symptoms over a few days and weeks. If you notice changes in thought patterns or don’t feel well when using them, consider looking for an alternative, such as improving your sleep hygiene.
Changes to consider when looking to improve sleep patterns include going to sleep and getting up each day at the same time or eliminating light in the bedroom.
Most often, you should take melatonin supplements 1 to 2 hours before going to bed. Usually, it will not cause immediate sleep, but it may help you ease into sleep a bit better.
Check out Simply Medical today to find a wide range of products to help you sleep better.