They don't need it and get sleepy during the day.

So people take it who don't need it.
It may even be harmful, we don't know.

Yes if you are getting sleepy during the day and must drive or operate equipment
you should discontinue the supplement.

I can't tolerate more than 1-1.25mg.

Have a wide range of dosage - meaning unregulated or very poor quality control. Example, a 5 mg gummy may in fact have 10 or 15 mgs.

I take melatonin nightly and I do notice the difference in my morning if I have forgotten to take it the night before. Unfortunately, I struggle to fall asleep w/o it, so I pick my poison - as it were…

Any of the above could explain it.


For that reason, most physicians recommend non-gummy forms of standard-release melatonin--limited to one to five milligrams (1-5 mg) with nothing else added And for those on gabapentin, amantadine or other neuro-active drug, the two should not be taken close together at bedtime.

So it is obviously too much. Duh...

In my experience working with docs who prescribed melatonin for sleep disorders, too high a dose can have the opposite effect and cause sleeplessness, not morning sleepiness.

The doc I worked with the most recommended 3-5mg, time release if possible.

Sleep apnea, blood sugar levels, and other factors could contribute to morning sleepiness. Undiagnosed and untreated sleep apnea dramatically raises the odds of having a stroke or heart attack.

But it doesn’t treat anxiety or help one “calm” down.

If your primary symptom is worry or anxiety rather than sleeplessness, you should seek the appropriate treatment for that, and not mask the symptom with melatonin.

There are lots of mindfulness based strategies that do require some investment of time and effort compared to taking a supplement, but there is a significant body of evidence on the efficacy of MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction).

Good luck!

(P.S. I’m a retired therapist)

worsened my restless leg syndrome, in addition to giving me the hangover.

...zolipidem (Ambien). A rule by which I live is to not take it after midnight and only then when I KNOW (as I often do) that I'm not going to sleep without it and that I must rise at a specific time.

I will take the OTC sleep aid diphenhydramine up to 2 AM, and OTC doxycyline up to 3 AM. Otherwise I just read or work, expecting to sleep the next evening, which usually I do.

It is not entirely unusual for me to get only 4 hours sleep in a 48 hour period.

I don't take OTC melatonin because a) it doesn't work and b) because I know how it is sometimes made.