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Melatonin for Insomnia User Reviews (Page 3)

Brand names: Melatonin Time Release, Sleep3, SGard, Bio-Melatonin

Melatonin has an average rating of 5.8 out of 10 from a total of 216 reviews for the treatment of Insomnia. 45% of reviewers reported a positive experience, while 36% reported a negative experience.

Reviews for Melatonin

  • RachS...
  • Taken for 10 years or more
  • August 23, 2015

"Being 24 years old, I have horrible sleep habits. There are days I have to wake up early for school or work, and other days I sleep in, so the time that I go to sleep every night varies. Also, when I have something happening in the morning (work, school, etc.), my mind is constantly racing while I am trying to sleep. Now, before I go to sleep every night, I take melatonin (the Natrol brand), and it definitely relaxes me so I can comfortably fall asleep. Other sleeping pills I have previously used would make me wake up feeling groggy, still very tired, and with a migraine. Unlike other sleeping pills, I wake up feeling refreshed after taking melatonin. I would highly recommend."

9 / 10
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40 Report
  • Hey
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • August 26, 2019

"I have been using Melatonin for 2 weeks now. The last week I have been noticing some really nasty side effects. I have been dizzy all day, my anxiety and depression is really bad. Had panic attack at work and actually now in such a dark mood. After reading all the reviews here I'm quitting this stuff immediately."

2 / 10
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26 Report
  • Kryst...
  • April 12, 2017

"I am over 50, and I no longer get the amount of sleep that I used to. Went from 8 hours to now I'm lucky if I get 5 hours, and it's interrupted sleep. I tried prescription sleeping pills once, but they had nasty side effects. Melatonin really helps. If you take too high a dose (larger than 3 mg), you will wake up with a headache. I break a 3 mg pill in half and take it."

8 / 10
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34 Report

Frequently asked questions

  • Dina...
  • Taken for 1 to 6 months
  • March 7, 2015

"I bought melatonin 5 mg. The first time I ever took it, I didn't notice any difference. I still couldn't sleep and still woke up during the day. Six months later, I decided to give it another try. I took one 5 mg, and it did nothing, so I decided to up my dose. The next night, I took 10 mg about 30 to 40 minutes before sleeping. I kid you not, I fell asleep so fast I didn't know what hit me. I slept without waking up for a complete 8 hours and didn't feel tired when I woke up. This has seriously helped me a lot. It had been years, due to insomnia and scoliosis, since I've had days, much less months, of good sleep. I highly recommend it. Play around with doses. Add 1/2 the dose or a whole pill of the dose you are already taking if it isn't working for you."

9 / 10
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41 Report
  • Anonymous
  • September 6, 2011

"I've tried many different cures for insomnia, including OTC, homeopathic, and prescription drugs. Of them all, melatonin has the least bad side effects and most natural feeling sleep and rest. It's like being a teenager again... remember how easy it was to fall asleep at any time during the day back when you were 15? It's just like that, and sometimes I dream too, though these dreams can often be vivid and disturbing. I take time-release pills, one 3 mg pill per night is sufficient for a full, undisturbed 8 hours of sound sleep."

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52 Report

Are you taking this medicine?

  • Bexx
  • Taken for 1 to 6 months
  • August 26, 2015

"When I take sleeping pills, I always wake up groggy and feel like I never got any real sleep. These make me go to sleep quickly, and I feel like I have had the best sleep ever. I didn't think this would work, my sister offered it to me, and after an hour, I was out cold. The thing is, though, that the sleep is so good you never want to wake up and get your day going, lol. I take 5 mg very seldom when I really need to get a good night's rest or when I have a day off, and I feel physically tired but mentally awake to keep from working myself too hard and giving myself and my body much-needed beauty rest. Definitely works for me, maybe not for everybody, and I wouldn't suggest chronic use, but great for some sleepless nights."

9 / 10
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39 Report
  • Unkown
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • July 18, 2018

"I've been having problems sleeping, so I decided to try and take this. I was also giving it to my children, and I'm not going to do that anymore. It doesn't help you sleep. As for my experience, after taking it, I did get sleepy, but the next morning I woke up with such nervousness and anxiety. I had throughout the whole day, it was the worst feeling ever."

4 / 10
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29 Report

More FAQ

  • Roser...
  • February 19, 2016

"So I've been ill for 16 years, autoimmune, so needless to say insomnia is part of the equation here. Since I don't absorb anything properly, I take it in liquid or sublingual form. I take 3 mg sublingual dots, they work like a charm. If it's a bad night, I take 2. But that's just me. Also, the blue light on your cell phone and desktop computer lowers your melatonin and causes you to lose sleep. Look for an app to filter that out, that should help tremendously. Sweet dreams."

10 / 10
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37 Report
  • OCD...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • August 8, 2019

"I really don't recommend it specifically if you have any anxiety or depression . I was normally using melatonin when I was taking antidepressant for my OCD which turned my life into hell and it was effective . But after quitting antidepressant every time I use Melatonin I get severe depression ( and real dark thoughts) and anxiety and as a result I can't sleep it is not safe."

3 / 10
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25 Report
  • Mrs...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • August 28, 2016

"I am 46 years old and have been struggling with hot flashes for 8 years, and more severe now that I have had a total hysterectomy. The side effects of menopause for me have been severe hot flashes all day and all night. I have declined to take unnatural replacements. A week ago I began to take 10 mg melatonin (quick dissolve). I am still waking up throwing the covers off and feeling like my bed is going to catch fire due to the extreme heat of my body, however, I am finally able to fall back to sleep and feel rested in the morning. I am pleased with this supplement and I will continue to take it."

8 / 10
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35 Report
  • zzzzzzz
  • Taken for 1 to 6 months
  • January 16, 2020

"I have had chronic insomnia for 20 years, and usually coped by taking afternoon naps when I had to work through a day on 4-6 hours of sleep, or exercising extremely hard to tire myself out (neither is a long-term good solution). Melatonin works extremely well for me. I would recommend carefully starting with 1mg and increasing 1mg at a time only to the extent that it's necessary. If I take 2mg I'm asleep in an hour with a 50% likelihood, and if I take 5mg I'm asleep in 45 minutes with a 90% likelihood. But the vivid, often disturbing dreams are more common on nights when I take the larger dose. Still worth it to me even with the dreams. I personally have not had any of the side effects from melatonin other people have mentioned like an increase in depression or suicidal thoughts, and I'm extremely prone to both of those. Aside from marijuana, this is my best option for getting 8 hours of sleep regularly."

9 / 10
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23 Report
  • khenry
  • Taken for 2 to 5 years
  • January 26, 2016

"I suffered from moderate insomnia for the better part of a decade due to anxiety. I would always fall asleep, but it could potentially take hours. It was not unheard of for me to lay down at 11 and get up at 2-3 to watch TV and clear my mind. Ever since I started on melatonin, I swear it has been my miracle pill. I still suffer from anxiety, so the core of my insomnia is still there. I know that it will work differently for different people, so I won't say that a person would be wrong for a lower rating, but for me, it works, it works, it works! It changed my life."

10 / 10
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36 Report
  • radio...
  • October 25, 2015

"Melatonin, once exposed to humidity, is degraded by half. The reason for the mixed responses is never observed nor included in the data. Melatonin is, thankfully, available in the U.S. Add a silica packet to your bottle."

9 / 10
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37 Report
  • Jeni
  • September 23, 2019

"Circadian 2 mg. I took for 3 nights crazy nightmares, woke exhausted, irritable and anxious. Have also taken herbal melatonin, also useless, no nightmares but no sleep either. Might be effective for some people but not for me."

1 / 10
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24 Report
  • Alexz...
  • Taken for 1 to 6 months
  • August 9, 2016

"Melatonin helped me to fall asleep (I have severe insomnia), and usually keeps me asleep for some hours, sometimes the entire night, which to me is incredible. It helped me get off the poisonous benzodiazepines. I did need at least 3 mg to feel the effect, so if you're not feeling it, increasing doses might help. As a side effect, I think it lowered my blood pressure during the night, although I'm not sure. Studies did confirm it has this potential."

8 / 10
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34 Report
  • Jewl
  • October 2, 2014

"My 90-year-old mother, who has dementia, takes 0.5 mg before bed and it helped the first night and continues. Also takes 0.5 mg in the morning. Aggressive and anxious behavior from dementia 'sundowning' has decreased."

9 / 10
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39 Report
  • mefor...
  • Taken for 1 to 6 months
  • June 11, 2015

"I have tried every prescription for sleeping. I get roughly 3 hours at a time, only to wake up groggy the next day. When I was told about melatonin, I didn't think it would be worth trying. Well, I was wrong. It was great and still is. I use it in conjunction with valerian root from time to time and can't believe how well I sleep."

9 / 10
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36 Report
  • bmgresh
  • February 17, 2010

"32 years old. Have been taking melatonin about 4 years now. It works great. I started off at 3 mg and now take 9 mg a few times a month to help with sleep issues. I haven't noticed weird dreams. What I like is that I fall asleep, and if I had to get up for an emergency (3 young children), that there is no grogginess or medicine head feeling."

8 / 10
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50 Report
  • heiler
  • Taken for 2 to 5 years
  • October 8, 2016

"CAUTION with the dosage of this thing. I've seen from 0.3 mg to 10 mg being sold. Got a really bad headache the next day when taking 1 mg before sleep. Also tried the 0.3 mg and got sleepy the next day, yawning all day long. It really 'causes' sleep, you'll feel sleepy, but not relaxed at all. It's not like a benzodiazepine (alprazolam/clonazepam/etc). If you already feel your eyes dry/red and yawning, you don't need this! And try the lowest dose you can find. I'm still trying to find something lower than 0.3 mg because even that dosage seems too much for me. Have been fighting with my 'internal clock' since I was a kid. It seems my brain always wants to sleep later and later, and that feeling that I won't sleep causes me anxiety too."

3 / 10
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32 Report
  • Redroy
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • February 8, 2015

"I have had sleep problems for twenty years now due to pressure of work and probably a predisposition to insomnia. Have used various sleep aids, benzodiazepines, diphenhydramine, etc. I am affected by both difficulty going to sleep and staying asleep. Recent reports concerning sleep aids and Alzheimer's put me off using. Melatonin not implicated as far as I know, so I have turned back to that! Dosage 6 mg slow release, one hour before bedtime. As on previous occasions, it is mild with no noticeable side effects. Worth a try!"

8 / 10
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36 Report
  • Sady
  • July 21, 2020

"I tend to stay awake late scrolling social media due to stress and work related anxiety. Took melatonin to help me fall asleep, and have had the strangest experiences. Some nights it works beautifully and I fall asleep quickly, wake up feeling refreshed. Other nights I take it and find I’m thrashing around for hours and hours; my mind thinks I’m awake but the next morning I realize I was sleeping. It feels like an extremely lucid dream, where I cannot move my body but my brain knows everything that’s going on around me. Also sends my heart racing and feels like I’m wide awake while I’m actually in a light sleep. However, it combats my daytime anxiety very well when I do use it before bed (this is a big pro, social anxiety is annoying and common). I’m also mildly irritable after using it, and experience a ‘crash’ around 1-3 pm. If you’re having mild trouble sleeping I’d advise changing some habits before you try melatonin."

4 / 10
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19 Report
  • smad
  • Taken for 1 to 6 months
  • February 18, 2015

"I'm 49, menopausal, and I am detoxing methadone (for cancer pain), and every night I find myself wide awake, body and mind, despite Rx sleeping pills. I was taking 2-3 mg tabs of melatonin with fairly good results. I have since learned that that is considered a high dose. However, I picked up a new bottle and inadvertently got 5 mg tabs, so for 4 nights I was taking 10 mg, and it had an opposite effect. I was anxious, my heart was racing, I became quite depressed throughout the day, and of course, I was wide awake. So if you are having any of those problems with melatonin, then maybe try a lower dose. I have since learned that a body normally makes 0.3 mg/day, so much lower doses make sense. Sweet dreams..."

9 / 10
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35 Report
  • sam
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • October 22, 2019

"Tried melatonin 5mg a little before bed, gave me a lot of anxiety during the night. Would have bouts of deep sleep and wake feeling anxious. Just when I would go to doze off I couldn't because of an anxious feeling like if I would fall asleep I would stop breathing. Not again..."

2 / 10
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21 Report
  • JRod
  • Taken for 2 to 5 years
  • July 30, 2015

"I have had lifelong issues with insomnia. My doctor recommended melatonin 1-3 mg because apparently less in this case is better. I have used sleep meds for a long time, but they don't always work great. I added this, and I started being able to feel tired enough to go to sleep before my sleeping pills kicked in, which has allowed me better sleep. It is hard sometimes to lay down when you don't even feel tired, but this fixed all that."

9 / 10
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33 Report
  • Grann...
  • February 1, 2013

"I normally take Valerian Root to sleep. I ran out, and I have heard a lot about Melatonin OTC. Not for me. I took it about 2 1/2 hours ago and am still wide awake. I am glad it works for all of the ones I have read the reviews on, but I almost feel like it is a caffeine high. I don't drink caffeine. I will go back to my Valerian Root tomorrow, so I can sleep."

1 / 10
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40 Report

Reviews may be edited to correct grammar/spelling or to remove inappropriate language and content. Reviews that appear to be created by parties with a vested interest are not published. This information is not intended to endorse any particular medication. While these reviews may be helpful, they are not a substitute for the expertise, knowledge, and judgement of healthcare professionals.