Melatonin Supplement - Sustained Release Tablets, 1 mg and 3 mg


Melatonin is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland that aids biorhythm regulation. Biorhythm is disturbed by stress, crossing time zones and changing work shifts. Melatonin production declines with age. The sustained release form of melatonin provides a slower, more physiological absorption. There are two popular Source Naturals melatonin products, 1 mg sublingual and 3 mg sustained release.
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Melatonin supplement sustained release form provides a slower, more physiological absorption.

Suggested Use: 1/2 or a full melatonin supplement one to 4 hours before bedtime. Melatonin works best if used only a few times a week as opposed to nightly.
Supplement Facts:
Melatonin 1 mg or 3 mg

Melatonin found in beer
Melatonin present in beer contributes to increase the levels of melatonin and antioxidant capacity of the human serum.
Clin Nutr. 2009. Maldonado MD, Moreno H. Department Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Seville Medical School, Seville, Spain.
Beer is an integral element of the diet of numerous people and is rich in antioxidants. We analyzed if melatonin is present in beer and if so, at what concentration. It further determines whether the moderate consumption of beer has an effect on the total antioxidant status of human serum. We analyzed 18 brands of beer with different percentage of alcohol content in order to determine the concentration of melatonin. All the beer analyzed did indeed contain melatonin and the more they had, the greater was its degree of alcohol. Melatonin levels in human serum increased after drinking beer. Melatonin present in beer does contribute to the total antioxidative capability of human serum and moderate beer consumption may protect organism from overall oxidative stress.

Benefit of Melatonin supplement:

Melatonin and jet lag
Nightly doses, at 1 to 3 mg, taken one to three hours before bedtime at the new destination for a few nights may be helpful in reducing symptoms of jet lag, especially if the travel is in an Eastern direction and several time zones have been crossed. It's very difficult to know exactly the dosage of melatonin that would be effective. There is a wide range of individual response to melatonin. As a rule, a higher dose of melatonin would be taken the more time zones are crossed while traveling eastward.

Potent antioxidant
Evidence continues to accumulate regarding the antioxidant benefits of melatonin. In laboratory studies, melatonin has been found to stimulate natural antioxidant systems in addition to offering protection to the DNA present within cells. While these effects have been observed primarily using pharmacological (very large) doses of melatonin, in a small number of experiments melatonin has been found to have antioxidant properties in small, physiological doses as well. The ability of melatonin in inhibiting oxidative damage has been tested in a variety of neurological diseases where free radicals have been suspected as being in part causative of the condition. Thus, melatonin has been shown to reduce amyloid protein toxicity of Alzheimer's disease, to reduce oxidative damage in some types of Parkinson's disease, to reduce brain injury when exposed to low blood or oxygen flow, and to lower brain damage due to a variety of toxins.
   Low dose melatonin treatment in mice enhances the body's natural anti-oxidant system, and this may have anti-aging properties. This study has convinced me to take 0.1 or 0.5 mg of melatonin a couple of nights a week. I have a melatonin pill of 1 mg and I take a portion of it about an hour to three hours before bed.

Melatonin may improve the immune system
The details are fuzzy in humans, but in cell culture and animal studies melatonin has immune stimulating capabilities.

May have anti-cancer abilities
There's been quite a few studies with melatonin supplement and cancer, most of them done in Italy. Most of the studies have shown benefits using 10 to 40 mg of melatonin nightly. However, much is yet to be learned about this approach, and hardly any oncologists in the US are familiar with the use of melatonin as an anticancer agent. Therefore, at this point, the use of melatonin is still experimental. However, since certain forms of cancer are ultimately fatal in many cases, it may be worthwhile to try melatonin. Your physician can easily access all the research on Medline.

Melatonin enhances dreams and promotes sleep
This could lead to vivid, enjoyable and memorable dreams or, on the flip side, vivid nightmares. Melatonin enhances REM sleep. Any dose over 0.5 or 1 mg is likely to make dreams very intense. People report nightmares on high doses of 2 to 5 mg.

Additional Melatonin benefits
Melatonin reduces the frequency of nighttime visits to the bathroom in men with enlarged prostate (see study below). The melatonin dose used was 2 mg of sustained release.
When used nightly may lower blood pressure.
May prevent or reduce migraine headaches.
May improve sleep in patients with asthma symptoms.
Patients with irritable bowel syndrome were found to have fewer symptoms after taking 3 mg nightly for 2 weeks.

Melatonin supplement side effects, safe use, danger
Melatonin has side effects, but much less so that pharmaceutical sleeping pills. A common melatonin side effect is a nightmare. Another adverse effect is morning grogginess. Long-term safety is not known, however melatonin thus far appears to be very safe in the short term. Vivid dreams and next day morning grogginess are common melatonin side effects on dosages greater than 0.5 mg. Prolonged use may have an influence on sex organs (see study below) and reduce libido in some users. Most pharmaceutical sleeping pills are associated with memory loss, but this does not happen to be a melatonin side effect.

Melatonin Dosage and Frequency guidelines
It's best not to take high dose melatonin supplement product on a nightly basis. Tolerance develops in some people when a melatonin supplement is used every night. After a few weeks some find that melatonin is not inducing or maintaining sleep as well as it did in the past. To avoid the creeping up of tolerance, melatonin should be used at most every other night, or preferably every third night. The dose should be the lowest amount that works, such as 1 mg or less. Some users find that a dose as little as 0.3 mg taken around 8 pm can induce sleep. It is ok to occasionally take a high dose such as 3 to 5 mg if needed, for instance jet lag or shift work changes. Melatonin is not toxic at high doses when used infrequently. New research suggests a low dose of melatonin at 0.3 mg taken earlier in the evening may be as effective as a higher dose taken closer to bedtime.
   Tiredness, low mood, or fatigue can develop when people use melatonin every night, especially in doses more than 2 or 3 mg. Some people feel sleepy or groggy the next day with the urge to take naps.
   We still don't know the long-term effects on the immune and hormonal systems of chronic melatonin use. Also, high doses of melatonin used nightly without breaks could possibly interfere with optimal sex drive and have an untoward influence on gonads (see study below).

Melatonin supplement in various dosages and forms
There are so many forms of melatonin supplements. Should people take the regular melatonin pills, sublingual melatonin supplement or the time release?
   Most of the melatonin supplements presently on the market are the regular 3 mg pills. You may want to cut this pill into a fifth or even a tenth and use this dose your first night, about an hour or two before bed. Alternatively, you can also purchase melatonin pills at 1 mg or sometimes even lower dosages are sold. If this low dose is effective, then you may keep using it as needed for sleep. If you don't feel any effect, then take a little more the following nights.
   If your main problem is falling asleep, then try the sublingual form (also available in liquid form), in the range of 0.3 to 1.0 mg, about an hour or two before bed. However, some people wake up in the middle of the night, or early morning, feeling alert. Most of these people would want to sleep a couple of hours longer. Melatonin has a short half-life and therefore is metabolized very fast and will be out of the body soon. This explains why many people wake up early.
   In order to stay asleep longer, a good option is slow-release melatonin, which is released consistently throughout the night. Slow-release (also known as sustained, time or controlled-release) melatonin will likely become more popular in the future. Another form that is useful is melatonin tea. The tea is drunk about an hour before bed. One company has added half a mg of melatonin to their tea bag.

Melatonin and Children
The use of a melatonin supplement for a child appears to be safe as long as melatonin use is kept to no more than 2 times a week and a dose of 0.5 mg or less.

My children are very hyperactive and have trouble falling asleep. I tried a melatonin supplement and it worked great.
   Melatonin supplement appears to be very safe when used occasionally such as once or twice a week. We would recommend limiting the dose in children to no more than 0.3 mg and no more than once or twice a week until additional information is available regarding safety in a child.

Melatonin supplement over the counter
Consumer Lab dot com announced in 2006 results from its new Product Review of Melatonin Supplements covering 29 products. Among the products selected for testing, only one failed for not properly breaking apart, not implying that it did not contain melatonin. Therefore, it appears that melatonin supplements sold in stores or on the internet appear to be true to their label. Sales of melatonin supplements in the U.S. rose 7% in 2004 to $67 million, according to Nutrition Business Journal.

Melatonin Research review
MIT scientists confirm that melatonin supplement is an effective sleep aid for older insomniacs and it appears that only a small dose of melatonin (about 0.3 milligrams) is necessary for a restful effect. Taken in that quantity, melatonin not only helps people fall asleep, but also makes it easier for them to return to sleep after waking up during the night. However, most melatonin products on the market range between 1 to 5 mg. At this high dose, tolerance can develop and the melatonin receptors in the brain become unresponsive. Thereafter, melatonin becomes less effective.
   Dr Sahelian says: When I first wrote my book Melatonin: Nature's Sleeping Pill back in 1995, I cautioned users to keep at a low dose. I recommended that people not take more than 1 mg on a regular basis even though the most common dosage on the market at that time was 3 mg. It appears now that a third of a mg works better in the long run.  Back in 1995 I had personally noticed tolerance within a few days of taking 3 mg nightly. I also experienced some of the side effects of high dose melatonin, which include wonderful psychedelic dreams, but also nightmares. In addition, I felt tired and sleepy in the mornings. I know feel comfortable recommending 0.2 to 0.5 mg a few nights a week. Melatonin is best absorbed on an empty stomach. If you can only find the 1 mg product, just take about a third of it. As to the ideal time of use, it can range from 3 to 4 hours before bed to 1 hour before bed. The higher dosages of 1 to 5 mg may be used occasionally for jet lag.

Daily nighttime melatonin supplement reduces blood pressure in male patients with essential hypertension.
Hypertension. 2004.
Our objective was to determine whether enhancement of the functioning of the biological clock by repeated nighttime melatonin supplement use might reduce ambulatory blood pressure in patients with essential hypertension. We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial in 16 men with untreated essential hypertension to investigate the influence of acute (single) and repeated (daily for 3 weeks) oral melatonin (2.5 mg) intake 1 hour before sleep on 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure and actigraphic estimates of sleep quality. Repeated melatonin intake reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure during sleep by 6 and 4 mm Hg, respectively. The treatment did not affect heart rate. The day-night amplitudes of the rhythms in systolic and diastolic blood pressures were increased by 15% and 25%, respectively. A single dose of melatonin had no effect on blood pressure. Repeated (but not acute) melatonin also improved sleep. Improvements in blood pressure and sleep were statistically unrelated. In patients with essential hypertension, repeated bedtime melatonin intake significantly reduced nocturnal blood pressure. Future studies in larger patient group should be performed to define the characteristics of the patients who would benefit most from melatonin intake. The present study suggests that support of circadian pacemaker function may provide a new strategy in the treatment of essential hypertension.

Melatonin: An Anti-Aging Hormone Supplement?
Ever since melatonin became available over the counter in 1994, it has created a lot of controversy. The medical establishment has been quite uneasy with this hormone being available without a doctor's prescription, and I remember back in the mid 1990s quite a number of articles were published in journals read by doctors warning them of potential serious side effects. This surprised me since my evaluation of the research did not indicate that melatonin was dangerous. It has been a decade since melatonin has been freely sold to the public, and to my knowledge there have not been any published studies to indicate that this hormone has caused any serious harm. In fact, more research continues to be published regarding its benefits. Numerous studies now indicate that melatonin has powerful antioxidant properties, in addition to its known hormonal activities which includes sleep inducement . A recent study published at the University of Rajasthan in Jaipur, India investigated the influence of low-dose chronic administration (0.10 mg/kg body weight/day for 3 months) of melatonin against age-induced oxidative stress in mice tissues, namely brain, liver, spleen and kidney. Sixteen-month-old mice were supplemented with melatonin for three months and then autopsied (at the age of 19 months). The results indicated that melatonin was able to significantly reduce the age-induced decline in the body's natural antioxidant system. The researchers state, "These findings indicate that low-dose chronic administration of melatonin acts as a free radical scavenger and anti-aging agent."
   Comments: Research thus far is convincing that melatonin has many beneficial properties. However, it is difficult to determine the ideal dosage and frequency of melatonin use in humans. At this time it would seem safe and prudent to take a low dose, such as 0.1 to 0.5 mg of melatonin a few nights a week, particularly for those who suffer from insomnia. Melatonin is best taken on an empty stomach about 1 to 3 hours before bedtime. Since most pills come in dosages ranging from 0.5 to 3 mg, you could bite off a small portion of the pill.

Melatonin Supplement Safe in 6 Month Study
Researchers at the University of Lodz in Poland. evaluated the effects of melatonin administration on sleep and routine blood chemistry in elderly women. The study was performed on 14 women aged from 64 to 80 years. Melatonin 2 mg was given at 7 pm nightly for 6 months. Before and after melatonin treatment blood samples were taken in the morning after an overnight fast. The total blood count, glucose, total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, and triglycerides were measured by routine laboratory methods. Thirty-six percent of those on melatonin had an improvement in general sleep quality. Melatonin treatment did not influence significantly either total blood count, glucose or blood lipids levels. The researchers conclude that on the basis of this preliminary open study it seems that melatonin administration may be safe for elderly subjects.
  Comments: It’s reassuring to know that blood chemistry was not affected in any significant adverse way by 6 months therapy with melatonin. On the basis of this preliminary study, it seems that elderly individuals should be quite safe if they use melatonin supplement one to three times a week at a dose of 0.1 or 0.5 mg.

Questions & Answers
I've been taking melatonin supplement for about 6 weeks with great success. I take a combination of the lozenge type and the time released. I've found that I can take it every 4 days because of the carry over effect. The results have been wonderful. Then suddenly last week, out of the blue, it seemed like the melatonin just stopped working. It seemed to have the opposite effect upon me, rather than putting me to sleep, I was awake all night. Now I'm back where I was at the beginning with my sleep problems. What happened? Things were going so well. Do I just need a break from the melatonin for a couple of weeks? On the night that I'd been taking the melatonin, I take a total of up to 20 milligrams throughout the night. I've tried a lower dosage, but it had no effect.
   Tolerance could have developed. Taking a break for 2 or 3 weeks followed by using it less frequently is an option.

Q. When is the best time to take the time released melatonin supplement?
   A. Each person is unique in their melatonin supplement requirement, for some melatonin taken an hour before sleep works, for others it could be 3 hours before bedtime. Best way to find out the ideal melatonin dose and time of use is through trial and error.

Q. Would a melatonin supplement help in breast cancer?
   A. Studies have been done with melatonin and breast cancer in Italy with some success, but more research is needed to determine the right dosage of melatonin for breast cancer and whether the early promising results can be replicated.

Re: melatonin canine use. How many mg can a dog of 40 kilo take at night?
   For canine use, melatonin can be used at a dose of 0.1 mg for each 5 k, this is a rough guideline and only for occasional use.

Does  melatonin with valerian work better than alone?
   It depends how the formula is made, the dosage of each, and the extract potency of the valerian.

Re: Melatonin adhd. My son has adhd and i was wondering if this sleep hormone would help cure it.
   We doubt such supplementation would have a strong influence on ADHD, but perhaps additional research will give us some clues.

Q. Can a melatonin supplement help with tinnitus? I am looking for a natural herbal supplement that works.
   A. Perhaps in some people, but more research is needed.

Is a chewable melatonin effective?
   Yes, a chewable melatonin supplement is as effective as an oral or sublingual form.

Does a melatonin supplement cause hypertension?
   Use can actually lower blood pressure in certain individuals.

Passion Rx, alprazolam interaction with melatonin. Do they interact?
   It is difficult to make predictions without knowing the full medical history and dosages that are used.

Can the use of Multi Vit Rx for a excellent daily vitamin doctor formulated cause sleep problems?
   If more than two capsules are used daily it can cause alertness late into the evening and interfere with sleep.