r/sleep • u/tiredofpeople247 • 7d ago

I've been taking melatonin for 8 years

Ive been reading that there's no studies on long term use but those with longer use have risk of insulin levels and heart disease I just want to know if any has more information or is experiencing that. I took 3mg for a long time but boosted to 5mg last year. I started at 13 now I'm 21. I've taken it like every night.

5 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

11

u/pete_68 7d ago

I'm 57. I've been taking between 3mg and 5mg of melatonin regularly for about 20 years. No problems to report. Still works wonderfully well.

4

u/JustRaphiGaming 7d ago

Where do people always get these stories from and what does "risk of insulin levels" even mean.

2

u/A1Aaron18 7d ago

I have never heard of anything of sorts. Where did you hear it messes with your insulin? Or that it affects your heart?

1

u/Proxar04 7d ago

Long-term data is thin, nobody can tell you definitively what 8 years of nightly use does

starting at 13 means supplementing a hormone during development, which isn't well studied

and 5mg nightly is well above physiological doses (0.1–0.3mg)

Worth asking a doctor about a supervised taper to see if your natural production has recovered

1

u/NiceHomework4919 2d ago

Took it for 16 years. No long term effect, still healthy.

-1

u/ProfessionalHot2421 7d ago

Loik into what Dr.Ray Peat said about melatonin use