3 ms·

A couple of things worked on there for me as well, but the biggest one for me personally is 0.3mg of melatonin I started with 3mg, way too much, went to 1.5mg,

A couple of things worked on there for me as well, but the biggest one for me personally is 0.3mg of melatonin I started with 3mg, way too much, went to 1.5mg, still too much. Then did 0.7mg, that was fine but still some small side effects. Then 0.4mg that was fine. Then 0.2mg, that didn't work. Then I did 0.3mg and it seemed to be the sweet spot. I can just barely perceive it working and it is just enough to make me feel a bit woozy, which is what I cannot do myself.

mikenew 5y ago
My understanding is that melatonin is a threshold kind of thing, so it makes sense to dial in a specific dose. For me I found that 1mg gave me as much "get to sleep" effect as 10mg, so I would just use 1. I wasn't able to find dosages less than 1mg so I never experimented further. For me, I took melatonin before bed for a month or two and then stopped, and when I stopped I didn't notice my time-until-sleep being any different. My assumption is that my natural melatonin production eventually started happening at the right time once my circadian rhythm was fixed and the supplemental melatonin wasn't needed.
- raducu 5y ago
  > I wasn't able to find dosages less than 1mg so I never experimented further. I was like you, but I just roughly broke the pills in half or 1/3 and it worked even better. Now I have this melatonin syrup drops, 150mcg per drop so it's easy, 2 drops for me.
- mettamage 5y ago
  In The Netherlands they are sold at 0.1mg at the lowest granularity. I used those to test it. Eventually, after figuring out my dose, I now resort to a comfortable yummy (it's sweet, helps with placebo effect :P) 0.3mg melatonin + 1mg CBD tablet.
xattt 5y ago
Most melatonin tablets are available in 3 mg formulation. What sort of microtome are you using for dosing?
- travisjungroth 5y ago
  A few companies make 300mcg. Sundown Naturals is one.
- flobosg 5y ago
  In Germany melatonin capsules come usually in 1 mg doses or even 0.5 mg ones.
- raducu 5y ago
  Just get melatonin drops. They say 1.5mg on the label, but that's for 10 drops or 150mcg per drop, so you can take 2 drops for 300mcg or 3 drops for 450mcg.
  - xattt 5y ago
    Perfect, thank you!
vkk8 5y ago
According to Scott Alexander's review (https://slatestarcodex.com/2018/07/10/melatonin-much-more-than-you-wanted-to-know/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2018/07/10/melatonin-much-more-th...), 0.3mg is the correct dosage for melatonin and higher doses might do more harm than good. I think you have accidentally replicated some of the melatonin research on yourself. I personally wouldn't want to use melatonin all the time. Relying on a drug to keep my circadian rhythm going seems fragile and scary.
- mettamage 5y ago
  Yep, I read that one after I found my dose and had the same thought. I don't want to use melatonin either but when I got off of it, I don't fall asleep. My situation is simple: either don't get sleep, or use melatonin. It's fragile but currently my only seeming option that I have, so I have to take it.

mikenew 5y ago

My understanding is that melatonin is a threshold kind of thing, so it makes sense to dial in a specific dose. For me I found that 1mg gave me as much "get to sleep" effect as 10mg, so I would just use 1. I wasn't able to find dosages less than 1mg so I never experimented further. For me, I took melatonin before bed for a month or two and then stopped, and when I stopped I didn't notice my time-until-sleep being any different. My assumption is that my natural melatonin production eventually started happening at the right time once my circadian rhythm was fixed and the supplemental melatonin wasn't needed.

raducu 5y ago
> I wasn't able to find dosages less than 1mg so I never experimented further. I was like you, but I just roughly broke the pills in half or 1/3 and it worked even better. Now I have this melatonin syrup drops, 150mcg per drop so it's easy, 2 drops for me.
mettamage 5y ago
In The Netherlands they are sold at 0.1mg at the lowest granularity. I used those to test it. Eventually, after figuring out my dose, I now resort to a comfortable yummy (it's sweet, helps with placebo effect :P) 0.3mg melatonin + 1mg CBD tablet.

xattt 5y ago

Most melatonin tablets are available in 3 mg formulation. What sort of microtome are you using for dosing?

travisjungroth 5y ago
A few companies make 300mcg. Sundown Naturals is one.
flobosg 5y ago
In Germany melatonin capsules come usually in 1 mg doses or even 0.5 mg ones.
raducu 5y ago
Just get melatonin drops. They say 1.5mg on the label, but that's for 10 drops or 150mcg per drop, so you can take 2 drops for 300mcg or 3 drops for 450mcg.
- xattt 5y ago
  Perfect, thank you!

vkk8 5y ago

According to Scott Alexander's review (https://slatestarcodex.com/2018/07/10/melatonin-much-more-than-you-wanted-to-know/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2018/07/10/melatonin-much-more-th...), 0.3mg is the correct dosage for melatonin and higher doses might do more harm than good. I think you have accidentally replicated some of the melatonin research on yourself. I personally wouldn't want to use melatonin all the time. Relying on a drug to keep my circadian rhythm going seems fragile and scary.

mettamage 5y ago
Yep, I read that one after I found my dose and had the same thought. I don't want to use melatonin either but when I got off of it, I don't fall asleep. My situation is simple: either don't get sleep, or use melatonin. It's fragile but currently my only seeming option that I have, so I have to take it.