Melatonin (sleep aid), does it work? ?

Anyone try melatonin to regulate their sleep cycles or help them sleep? At what dosages did find the greatest success? Any brand names that are better than others / Top brands? Would you suggest this product as a worthwhile small investment or is it a waste of time? Any side effects?
All information will be helpful, thanks ;)

You can try 1 or 2 mg of melatonin, but I would avoid taking it for more than a month. It is a hormone produced by the pineal gland. If you keep taking melatonin, your pineal gland can get "lazy" and produce less melatonin naturally. The brands I recommend are Life Extension, TwinLabs and Natrol, in that order.
Below is more info on insomnia. It is so long it can put you to sleep. If you have annoying thoughts or personal issues that run thru your mind when you are trying to sleep, you might want to talk to a counselor about that.
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Depending on the season, a warm bath is a great way to relax. If you can鈥檛 take a bath, you can give yourself a foot massage with slightly warm massage oil, sesame oil, or castor oil from a health food store.

There are herbs that are helpful for sleep, eg, valerian root, kava kava, chamomile, hops, passion flower, skullcap. If you get the real herbs, you can make teas out of them. Otherwise get the herbs in capsule form. You can try a single herb or herbal combinations. Probably, valerian root and kava kava are the best.

What was very helpful to me, especially when my mind was racing, was to lie in bed and listen to relaxation CDs, especially those that contain someone speaking with relaxing music in the background. Many of these CDs are available on eBay for very low prices.

A helpful technique is to relax your body one part at a time. So you could relax your feet, your lower legs, upper legs, moving up from your lower belly up to your chest, etc., etc.

Of course, guided relaxation methods can help, imagining yourself in the country, the beach, or whatever is most soothing to you.

I TRIED MELATONIN, IT WIRED ME. I DIDN'T GET ANY SLEEP. ALSO TRIED KAVA - AN
VALERIAN ROOT,DIDN'T WORK. I ENDED UP TAKING A PERSCRIPTION DRUG--ZOLPIDEM
10MG SO FAR N-SIDE AFFECTS! 7 MOs
DECON Report Abuse

its okay. Ive taken all the over the counter meds for sleep help...melatonin helps, but it seems to help keep me asleep rather than put me to sleep. It is okay, but as far as dosages go, a couple pills of any dosage you can buy or one and it works. Anything more than that has been clinically proven to be ineffective, or less effective than the standard dose. ummm, my favorite is unisom, works pretty good. I take ambien now though considering my job has made sleeping a little rough to come around.

My favorite is "Power to Sleep PM" by Irwin Naturals. It's a combination of Magnesium, Calcium, Valerian, Hops and Melatonin (to name a few ingredients) that helps me get better sleep than I ever have before. Take it about 30 minutes before you plan to go to bed and keep in mind it's a sleep aid, not a sleeping pill. It will relax you, but not knock you out. You wake up in the morning without feeling groggy! It's amazing.

Yes melatonin did work for me when I was having difficulty sleeping. I was taking a 2mg pill an hour before bedtime. It mellowed me out and gave me a deep relaxing sleep.

The article entitled "Melatonin, Does It Help Us Sleep?" in the source box may be of some help to you in making up your mind.

m edlatonin is a stimulant for teh brain\