Can melatonin cause insomnia?

If you’re one of the 30% of people in America whose sleep is continually disrupted, then it’s understandable that you’ve tried a variety of ways to get more shut-eye. Many have turned to melatonin supplements since they’re cheap, over-the-counter, and readily accessible for nearly everyone. But wait a minute… doesn’t melatonin help you fall asleep? Then why would so many people be asking “Can melatonin cause insomnia?”

What Is Melatonin?

Melatonin is a natural hormone created by the pineal gland – an endocrine gland in your brain – that controls your circadian rhythms (the biological clock that governs wakefulness and sleepiness). Usually released once darkness falls; its levels will rise in line with nightfall and progressively decline during sunrise.

In simpler terms: when it gets dark outside, our body produces more melatonin which makes us sleepy; when sunlight breaks through our windows at dawn or neon lights are switched on inside your house too early each morning – signals from this hormone decrease making us feel alert again!

The Safe Dosage

So if we know what the deal is with this hormone affecting our bodies’ internal alarm clocks, it’s time we answer the question: can taking too much hurt instead of help? Taking too much melatonin – usually exceeding 5 milligrams per day (isn’t reccommended) can lead to some pretty negative side effects though luckily rare:

  • Increased anxiety
  • Lowering cortisol production
  • Disruption within fertility
  • Inability to taper off use

Now let’s think about how someone might find themselves using a supplement like this already overloaded on work/study enhancing substances/when travelling across various time zones/simply finding it hard getting restful shuteye or wishing for extra dream-tastic experiences altogether, sometimes resorting straight up medical advice on their own self-medication journey.

Why You Might Take Melatonin

Aside from being a natural-found hormone in your body, taking melatonin supplements may be beneficial for folks who are having difficulty falling asleep or suffering from insomnia conditions like shift work disorder. People traveling across several different time zones could use synthetic doses of these pills to help their system adjust on arrival at new ‘rest’ hours and establish better sleep patterns.

It can also aid with some OCD tendencies by helping improve gait pace after dark pressures till it’s too late- even increasing our tolerance for bright light during daytime routines which is problematinic for many people that despite our current age where we acknowledge the general pressure overtaking us can’t remove all of the pre-existing strain and anxiety build-up inhibiting genuinely fitting slumber times.

Pseudo-Insomnia: The Real Culprit

Now let’s cut to tackling another key element as promised; does melatonin cause insomnia? Technically NO! Simple enough, right? But wait…

There exists this idea/phenomenon called “pseudo-insomnia.” This occurs when a person believes they aren’t getting any rest based on biased perception about how much shuteye was actually achieved leading them into belief/mistrust over bodily alerts written-off as unimportant to begin with – ultimately isn’t an actual medical condition but more-so related personal interpretation/opinion towards measurement tools utilized for analysis..

For example: Many people believe they’ve been awake since turning in only witnessing hour-long naps throughout nite-time but usually longer-lasting sleeps were absent simply due external factors such as noise or restlessness keeping them up frequently. They didn’t entirely register extended amounts of sleeping so technically-their estimates fell short.

As someone who used to ace exams during university years yet stressed constantly feeling fatigued/deprived constantly specifically around final projects I understand this confusion well-enough. Especially if this sleep-debilitating condition goes long enough, psychological conditions such as depression and anxiety may become more likely to surface.

Conclusion

As contradictory as it seems since synthetic melatonin actually can help you fall asleep yet not cause insomnia itself. Still confused? If so, sit back and relax; essentially the sleep problem doesn’t stem from the supplement itself but more on individual factors of an insomniac’s circumstances posing a likelihood of exacerbate symptoms overtime.

If experiencing trouble sleeping worsening over time/other uncomfortable side symptomatic signs DO happen over extended use periods generally within two weeks then consult with a physician who could alter dosages/troubleshoot surrouding requirements etcetera based on personal needs in diagnosing this behavioural health difficulty..

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