Is Your Sleep Supplement Doing More Harm Than Good?
Excess melatonin use in fall and winter can make you sluggish
I was flummoxed when a friend told me casually over a pumpkin latte she was taking 10 mg of melatonin nightly and had been for months. Sharing a stressful situation, we were swapping remedies for sleepless nights. She said her physician had suggested melatonin to help, so she picked up a bottle at her local pharmacy. It wasn’t until she ran out that she realized the dose was 10 mg.
Introducing even 1mg of a synthetic hormone into your body’s system seems like a lot, but 10 mg? I didn’t even realize 10 mg tablets were available to purchase. So I drove to my local pharmacy, and this is what I saw: Four of the five bottles were for 5 or 10 mg amounts.
With the arrival of fall and winter, the shorter days and increased hours of darkness will naturally trigger your body to increase melatonin levels. Do any of us need more? One of the reasons people with seasonal affective disorder often feel sluggish and depressed is thought to be due to higher amounts of melatonin.
