Melatonin supplement for seasonal hair loss and insomnia?

[Wusel]

Anyone experiences with this?
I have huge problems with sleeping since it's spring and the days are sooo long.
I sleep 4 hours and wake up :(
And I loose more hair.
I've read that a lack of melatonin in spring and summer can make you loose more hair.
I'm considering to buy some melatonin pills...
What do you think about this?

[Anje]

My sleep aid of choice is valerian root, FWIW. I never got very good results from melatonin by comparison.

Also, one of my cats goes crazy for the valerian, which is just bonus fun.

[Laurenji]

So, as far as I understand, taking melatonin can help you fall asleep at night, but it doesn't really *keep* you asleep. So it might help you if you're having trouble getting sleepy at night, but it won't help you continue to stay asleep.

What I've found actually works really well is a sleep mask. I started wearing one a couple months ago and it has made a huge difference. It took a while to get used to, but I sleep much longer and feel better rested. I forgot to put it on the other night and I woke up at 5:00am because it was so light in our bedroom. So I definitely recommend a sleep mask if the light is bothering you too much to stay asleep.

[Wusel]

Thank you.
But another problem is my increased hair loss in Summer. I've read that melatonin helps with this...

[velorutionista]

I have good luck with melatonin when I'm having trouble falling asleep, but if I'm having trouble staying asleep, it doesn't really help me (it doesn't keep me asleep, if that makes sense)...which now I realize isn't really the issue you described, but fwiw.

[rosieolie]

My sleep aid of choice is valerian root, FWIW.

I use valerian root for sleep and for anxiety. It works well for me on both counts. Not sure of the effects it has on hair, but as far as better sleep goes, I would recommend.

[texangrrl]

I use Melatonin every night to fall asleep - I actually take 20mg, which I believe is the highest dose, at 9pm and it's usually well after 10 before I fall asleep. I still wake up during the night though, so it won't keep you asleep.

[texangrrl]

My sleep aid of choice is valerian root, FWIW. I never got very good results from melatonin by comparison.

Also, one of my cats goes crazy for the valerian, which is just bonus fun.


I use valerian root for sleep and for anxiety. It works well for me on both counts. Not sure of the effects it has on hair, but as far as better sleep goes, I would recommend.

How do y'all use the valerian root? In a tea? I need to look into this as an alternative to my mega dosage of melatonin.

[Magalo]

Melatonin is really nice as a sleep aid. It doesn't help FALLING asleep, but it helps gettin a deeper, more reparative sleep. It makes me dream a lot, too!

The mistake people make is that they take the highest dose, thinking it would be more potent: actually, taking too much makes it inefficient. I recommend 3mg dose, skip the 10mg pills, they are useless!

I have no idea about hair loss, though!

[Magalo]

I use Melatonin every night to fall asleep - I actually take 20mg, which I believe is the highest dose, at 9pm and it's usually well after 10 before I fall asleep. I still wake up during the night though, so it won't keep you asleep.

It's funny because I didn't see your post before I wrote mine but :lol:... See my previous post. :) High dosage is a lot less effective than low dosage.

[Chromis]

Yes, melatonin is good for helping you to fall asleep, although I had never heard of it for hair! One caution though, from what I understand, it is not legal in Germany. Valarian is much more potent and often I take this as a tincture. It smells like stinky feet as a warning (and if you have cats, they will go nuts for it!) Which I take depends how sleepy I need to make myself! Tea made with hops also puts me to sleep fast. I make a mix with different things including mint, fennel, lemon balm, oregano, chamomile, basil, hops, catnip, and sometimes other things, but I think that one is pretty usual for me. The bagged ones are often not that great that you buy in the store though. I grow my own and dry it, but you can also buy bulk herbs. I can buy bulk herbs at hippie health food stores, but I am not sure if your bio markt stores are like this? They might have better blends though and ditto for the actual tea stores. Hmmm, I recall seeing these in the tea shop I went to anyhow, let me check... Yes! This would make a decent one to try as an example: http://shop.tgtea.com/Sleep-tight-Tea-Loose-Leaf-Herbal-Tea-001254/

[texangrrl]

Melatonin is really nice as a sleep aid. It doesn't help FALLING asleep, but it helps gettin a deeper, more reparative sleep. It makes me dream a lot, too!

The mistake people make is that they take the highest dose, thinking it would be more potent: actually, taking too much makes it inefficient. I recommend 3mg dose, skip the 10mg pills, they are useless!

I have no idea about hair loss, though!


It's funny because I didn't see your post before I wrote mine but :lol:... See my previous post. :) High dosage is a lot less effective than low dosage.

A high dosage being less effective than a low dosage makes absolutely no sense. Regardless, I actually started out with the lowest dosage and built up a tolerance over time.

[Magalo]

It's because your brain produce less than 1mg of melatonin to make you fall asleep naturally... It's an hormone, taking too much just unbalance it! It's not a drug. Look it up if you don't believe me!

[lapushka]

We all get more shedding in spring and fall. It's *normal* and really nothing to worry about. :flower:

[Anje]

How do y'all use the valerian root? In a tea? I need to look into this as an alternative to my mega dosage of melatonin.

I get it as powder in capsules; it's readily available here anywhere they sell supplements. My main issue is that when I'm stressed, I'll sleep for 2-3 hours and then wake up worrying about things. Valerian helps break me out of that cycle.

[flickm]

Wusel, I can relate to the hair loss/sleep situation. My hair has lost half its thickness through sleep deprivation in the last two years. First we had disturbed sleep through one of our dogs barking at foxes several times a night. We solved that with a white noise app on my iPad. Then my partner drinks massive amounts of coffee and disturbs me getting up in the night because his bladder is full. Then various stress factors meant I was getting to sleep but waking in the night then early in the morning. I'm sleeping better now plus taking loads of vitamins and my hair is recovering. I don't know anything about melatonin supplements, but i do know vitamin supplements have not only improved my hair and skin but seem to have relieved some of the stress symptoms, breaking the cycle of stress/sleep deprivation.

[Chromis]

Oh yes, I will second that making sure the room is good for sleeping is also very important. Sleep studies have shown that even small amounts of artificial light at night can interfere with how well we sleep. I have any blinkenlights all covered up, phone is in another room or facedown, alarmclock with no light, and most importantly black-out curtains! There is a streetlight right in front of our window. We got our curtain from IKEA, you can cut them to any length and they work well and don't cost too much.

For noises, we like soft music sometimes or just a fan. Ultimate sleepy music - Yanni's "In My Time" album. Cannot play this during the day or else I start to feel sleepy within three notes :laugh:

Although I have not heard of melatonin for hair growth, I do know that lack of sleep increases stress, which also increases shedding, so perhaps this is correlation?

You know, the other thing I like about making the herbal tea is that it gives you a kind of sleep ritual, which sometimes helps the mind slow down a little. There is something so soothing about holding a nice warm mug of tea or milk or whatnot.

[LemonFizzy]

I am not sure about melatonin helping hair not shed.

I have ongoing trouble with sleep and this is what helps me personally:

- Having a cup of tea helps me relax before bedtime. http://www.amazon.com/Traditional-Medicinals-Organic-Certified-16-Count/dp/B0009F3PQM
- Melatonin spray helps me fall asleep quickly. http://www.amazon.com/Source-Naturals-LA-AM-FU-NutraSpray-Melatonin/dp/B000K9EBL0
- No computer blue light. The program called f.lux helps by switching my monitor to orange light at sunset. I can watch Netflix and not blast my eyes with stimulating blue light. https://justgetflux.com/

--> Using L-Tryptophan helps me STAY asleep and not wake up at 2 in the AM with my brain alert. I take it after dinner and it really helps me have a full night of restful sleep most of the time. (I used to use 5-HTP but we are once again allowed to have tryptophan in the U.S.) http://www.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-L-Tryptophan-500mg-Vcaps/dp/B0019LWV56

Hope you find what works for you!

edit: to fix broken link

[KittyBird]

I've tried melatonin a few times, at very low doses, and while it helped me sleep through the night, I got terrible headaches the following day. I wasn't able to do anything at all, I had to stay in bed all day, hiding under the covers. I've never had headaches like that before. I'd rather have insomnia than use melatonin again.

[ositarosita]

Bamboo leaf tea puts me right out, and it also helps to increase my growth rate. Melatonin did nothing for me but it worked well for my mother, and it didn't aid in her hair loss either. I would suggest going to get some blood work done to determine if you need something that way or if something is out of wack.

[ExpectoPatronum]

Neither melatonin or valerian worked for my insomnia. Ambien is honestly the only thing that works extremely well, and I'm fortunate in that I don't get any of the nasty side effects. That said, I do only use it during those periods where my insomnia is so bad that I don't really sleep for days. Basically, it's an "in case of emergency" thing. I know my insomnia stems a lot from anxiety, so I've worked out other methods to try and prevent it from getting that bad. No lie, the thing that works the best for me (besides ambien) is going through the things my brain decided it currently wants to agonize over, and forcing myself to think logically about it. It took me a long time (think years) to get to that point, but now it's become a nightly routine. Scared of not knowing how to do something at work tomorrow? No problem, I can just ask someone how to do it and they'll show me. On to the next item! For things I can't control, I just put out some good vibes and hope for the best. I pass out almost as soon as I'm done going through all my "anxieties." (Sorry for getting off topic!)


Now back on topic...In terms of shedding, melatonin did not improve mine when I took it regularly. As some people already mentioned, shedding is very normal this time of year. A supplement won't help much.

[Wusel]

Thank you very much.
So, I've decided not to buy melatonin and ask at my local pharmacy for valerian. I NEED SLEEP. I can hardly work, have no appetite and feel sooo sleepy... Not nice for a full time working single mother... :(

[Kiiruna]

I'm a psych nurse and stuff, so I know a bit about these things.

Maximum dosage of melatonin is 5mg. That's all we can use. If you take, let's say, 10mg, 5mg of it we can use, and the rest is metabolized. It's not dangerous to take over 6mg, but it's not effective either. If you can't sleep with 5mg melatonin, it doesn't work for you.

Valeriana has a lot of interactions with a lot of medicines, so if you're on some kind of medication, ask your pharmacist about possible interactions.

[lapushka]

Thank you very much.
So, I've decided not to buy melatonin and ask at my local pharmacy for valerian. I NEED SLEEP. I can hardly work, have no appetite and feel sooo sleepy... Not nice for a full time working single mother... :(

Can you get "Sedinal" in Germany. In Belgium it is available. It is a calming, and also "sleep-inducing" agent made from natural materials. It is sold at our pharmacies. My doctor once prescribed me it for severe (muscle rigidity inducing) anxiety during an exam period.

[yogagirl]

Please read up very well on these "natural" supplements before trying them. Especially tryptophan/5-htp which can cause withdrawal similar to withdrawing from psych meds when you stop it suddenly after taking it regularly. And cannot be taken with certain medications like anti-anxiety/antidepressants, this is very important!!! (It can cause serotonin syndrome which can be fatal.) But even melatonin. These are chemicals that are active in your brain and many other systems in your body. yes, some people take them successfully, but some react not so well.

Before trying any of these, make sure you have tried everything else. Relaxation techniques, meditation, maybe guided meditation CDs, calm bedtime routine, limiting screen time, certain teas like chamomile, etc. Hope you find something that works for you! :flower:

[pinchbeck]

Insomnia has been plaguing me for the past two weeks. I go to bed at 12am and stay awake past 3am. At that point I'm at my wits end and will take half of pill of clonazepam. I have 1mg tablets of melatonin (easy to compound at this dose) that were originally purchased for my pet rats to help keep prolactin dependent tumors from growing back they were surgically removed. I am scared to take it.

I tried half a pill of trazadone (this gets mixed reviews) and it may have helped the night before but I felt groggy the next day and got a headache in the evening which lasted through the night. Could the trazadone is to blame or maybe it was something random.

Currently I don't have any stress or problems with clients at work. There's nothing worrying me. I don't understand why I am having trouble falling asleep. It is frustrating and leaves you feeling 'mac trucked' then there's that fear that creeps up on you at night about sleep the night before and the night before, etc.

Today I looked up valerian and am reading about melatonin. There has to be a better solution than relying on the 'pams' (lorazapam, clonazepam, etc.) which can cause dependence however which is worse out of the two evils---the dependence factor/side effects of sleep aids or the zombie you turn into the next day from not taking anything?

Below is a link that provides herbs that are used for insomnia. I don't know how accurate WebMD is but here it is:
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/condition-1310-Insomnia.aspx?diseaseid=1310&diseasename=Insomnia&source=0