Melatonin has been a complete game changer for me in this regard. I've struggled to get decent sleep since my late teens. I'm plagued by an overactive brain at night. About a year ago I started taking just 3mg of melatonin before bed and haven't looked back since. I'm sure my particular circumstances were such that it just happened to be my cureall and won't work for everyone, but if you have trouble sleeping and haven't tried it yet, definitely give it a go. It might be all you need.
I was prescribed melatonin by a doctor, and the dose went up little by little from 3mg to 10mg before we decided it didn't work for me. Sure it helped me fall asleep, but then I woke up a few hours later and couldn't sleep again. Years later I have started taking 0.5mg (1mg is the smallest pill I could find, and I split them in two) and it's much better that way.
Low-dose doxepin (3mg) has also helped, but I find that I have to take breaks from it, because it stops working after a while. This dose is much lower than the usual dose for depression, but a local pharmacy manufactures the pills based on a doctor's prescription.
Would definitely concur, and add that it's frustratingly hard to find small pills of melatonin.
I remember going to a presentation where the presenter was describing a clinical trial they were performing where they gave melatonin to some people for some reason I can't remember. But when they mentioned that they were giving 20mg each night the presenter noticed the look of absolute horror on my face. I almost asked them whether they wanted the participants to wake up again the next day.
I used to take half a milligram nightly, and did for about ten years. Recently I have been so exhausted all the time that I no longer have any trouble getting to sleep. Also, I think my body clock has changed now that I'm ten years older, because it does. I slept better when I stopped taking it, even though I definitely found it useful for a long time.
I hope I don't come across as the "well ackshually" guy, and I'm not definitely telling you to change, but maybe this could be useful to you: the alcohol episode of Huberman Lab podcast mentioned briefly at about 1:02:40 that in a discussion with a UC Berkley sleep researcher, it was said that having any alcohol at all on board interferes with sleep to the point that those in the field call it pseudo-sleep because it lacks most of the restorative value of sleep.
Glad you are interested. Keep in mind that his talk of supplements should be weighed with the knowledge that he is financially involved with supplement companies. It's not a secret, but worth some awareness.
