Health

How Melatonin Helped Fight My Insomnia

I am a certified night owl and an insomniac since my boards. I have always been a light sleeper who wakes up at the neighbor’s alarm. Even the faintest sound can wake me up and I have always had trouble falling asleep again. I’ve developed the habit of studying late at night at a very young age. Yes, my parents tried so much to change my habit but nothing I read during the daytime made sense in my brain. When I studied during the daytime, I felt like I’m reading an unknown language written in English wordings. On the contrary when I studied at the night time, 1 read was enough to burn the subject in my memory. This continued throughout my graduation and Masters and thus I developed insomnia. I would stay awake till 4-5 in the morning even when I had nothing to do. I even had days when I stayed wide awake throughout the night, the dawn and eventually the morning until my parents would wake up at 6.30 and we would have breakfast together. Things took a worse turn when I started working as a data analyst, and I would barely sleep 5 hours a day.

Now I have been blogging full time and I have free access to the ‘wake up late’ card, which resulted in a ridiculous routine. I barely sleep before 4-5 in the morning and needless to say I wake up tired no matter how late I get up. I do not get any energy until it’s 7 in the evening. If I try writing during the daytime, my brain just won’t co-operate. Since I try taking my blog pictures in the sun light I drag my tired body to the terrace or the balcony on days I click the pictures. After my afternoon tea, suddenly I receive all the energy the world has to offer me and I start working on my articles after showing off some culinary skills . Sometimes I’m done with my article by dinner time, sometimes not. After dinner I start involving in all kinds of activities one can think of, editing, writing, cleaning and organizing my products, literally everything. By 3 I still feel as energetic as one can get, if not, I roll up on my bed and watch vlogs until the neighbours start waking up. That has been my routine ever since I started full-time blogging and no matter how bad I tried getting into a healthy habit, and to get into bed by 1-2 a.m, I’ll just keep tossing and turning. To make it worse, on days when my head hits my pillow before 3 a.m, my sleep decides to abandon me completely.

Sometimes ago, I came to know about Melatonin, which is a hormone that regulates sleep cycle.

What is Melatonin?

Melatonin is a hormone made by the pineal gland , a small gland in the brain. Melatonin helps control your sleep and wake cycles. Your body has its own internal clock that controls your natural cycle of sleeping and waking hours. In part, your body clock controls how much melatonin your body makes. Normally, melatonin levels begin to rise in the mid- to late evening, remain high for most of the night, and then drop in the early morning hours.

[Source: Webmd]

Since everything else failed to help my insomnia, I decided to give it a go and I have been taking the  Zenith Nutrition Melatonin Supplements for the past few weeks.

Product Claims:

  • Promotes Optimal Sleep
  • Free Radical Scavenger
  • Gastrointestinal Support
  • A Dietary Supplement
  • General Health
  • GMP Quality Assured

Melatonin is a potent free radical scavenger naturally produced in the pineal gland and present in high amounts in the gastrointestinal tract. It is involved in many of the body, brain and glandular biological functions including regulation of normal sleep/wake cycles, regulation of the immune system and maintenance of a healthy gastrointestinal lining.

Zenith Nutrition Melatonin helps establish normal sleep patterns to promote a more restful, relaxing sleep and better overall health.

Directions: As a dietary supplement, take1 capsule daily with meal or as directed by a physician.

Warnings: Pregnant or lactating women, diabetics, hypoglycemics, and people with known medical conditions and/or taking drugs should consult with a licensed physician and/or pharmacist prior to taking dietary supplements.

Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

 

My Experience:

The first day that I took the Melatonin, I was a bit tired. One thing I haven’t mentioned before is that I don’t even get an early sleep even if am incredibly tired. That day I was tired as I didn’t get to wake up late that morning for some reasons. I took the supplement around 12.30 a.m and rolled into my bed around 1 am since according to my research, you should take the supplement 30 minutes before going to sleep. I tossed and turned for another half an hour and then I fell asleep before I knew. I slept like a baby that night without a single disruption. The next morning I pretty much enjoyed my mum’s surprised look to see me coming downstairs hours before I usually wake up. Surprisingly I was very much active throughout the daytime without the hint of tiredness. The following night, the supplement didn’t work as good as the night before, probably because I wasn’t as tired like the previous day. I slept late, but earlier than my usual nights and again without any disruption. The first few days after I started taking the supplement I suffered a mild and tolerable headache, which I read can be a side effect. But I do suffer from headache every now and then so I couldn’t point out if the supplement was the reason. After a week of undisturbed sleep and mild headache I stopped taking the supplements for a week and resumed after my headache was gone. This time however I did not suffer from any headache.

There are days when I fall asleep by 2 am now. One the other hand, the supplement kind of fails specifically on days when I take afternoon naps. However, I haven’t suffered a single night of disruptive sleep ever since I started taking the melatonin and I have been super active during the day time as well. I remember reading somewhere that not only does it helps the sleep cycle; it also flushes away all the tiredness from the day before.

So yes, even if I can’t fall asleep early every single day, it has still helped me build a healthy routine.

Will I suggest it?

If you are someone struggling with insomnia, you can give it a try.

Where to get it:

Official Website, Amazon, Flipkart

NOTE:

I did plenty of research before I started taking the supplement and I would suggest you to do it too (in case you decide to take it), or better consult a physician. According to my research, Melatonin is safe and is completely different from conventional sleeping pills, but I’ll still suggest doing your own research.

5 thoughts on “How Melatonin Helped Fight My Insomnia

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *