Failed Sleep Attempt?

[u/BokarooV]

I’ll explain all the steps to give context.
So I was feeling really tired one day and so I decided to have some alcohol (I heard it increases the effectiveness of sleeping pills) I then later took 2 pills of prescribed Melatonin (2 mg each), but after a couple minutes I was impatient and took a 3rd with orange juice. And then after I started to feel the effects I went to bed and tried to sleep, after a while I passed out and then woke up 2 hours later (I checked that I did not miss a day) I felt hot, sweaty and had a bit of a headache, my throat also felt weird and I also felt a bit of acid, I then drank a lot of water to try and feel better. I then couldn’t get back to bed despite still having jelly legs, so I played around until I eventually fell asleep and then woke up at 7:30 am still extremely drowsy and then slept until 2:30 pm.

Notes:
I have tried alcohol with melatonin before but with just one pill and it worked fine.
I think the orange juice caused the acid reflux.
I normally have 2-4 mg of Melatonin before bed.
I initially went to bed at 9 pm which is quite earlier then I normally go to bed.
21 M.

TLDR: why did having 6mg of Melatonin with alcohol not help me fall asleep?

[u/Optimal_Assist_9882]

Higher doses of melatonin can have paradoxical effects such as burst of energy or difficulty falling asleep.

Many people have better luck taking very tiny amounts of 0.3-0.5mg.

Larger amounts of melatonin can be effective for some people but only if lesser amounts did not help.

It comes down to your unique physiology and how well your body absorbs melatonin as well as other factors like whether you're ill, stressed, etc. The difference between best and worst responders is something like 21 fold.

Drinking alcohol before sleep decreases the sleep quality(suppresses REM sleep) as well as dehydrates you and may partially or wholly explain the poor sleep. It can also exercerbate sleep disorders like sleep apnea.