Melatonin makes a comeback, leaving experts unrelaxed

[psychomimetic]

well actually:

there's been some speculation that taking too much melatonin for an extended period of time can throw off your bodies natural production of the hormone.

Kava can be toxic to your liver as well if it is not prepared properly. The stems and leaves contain trace amounts of a hepatoxic chemical not found in the root, so unless you know that only the kava root extract has been used there is some chance for hepatoxicity.

I don't know of any adverse affects from valerian however.

that said, I doubt that the concentrations of any of the above compounds in any of these over the counter relaxation drinks/foods will have adverse effects unless you ate them nonstop everyday

Kava is liver toxic regardless of how its prepared I believe. But most of these drinks don't have Kava, and I don't think they'd hurt if you weren't drinking them all the time.

I've experienced down regulation like you say from melatonin, after a few weeks of taking it nightly it gave me bad insomnia if I skipped a dose. But that went away pretty quick and I wouldn't call it harmful, more natural down regulation from using a chemical sleep aid.

Either way, like you said and I have said, these won't hurt you unless you're eating them constantly, and even then they probably won't have very serious adverse effects.

 

[Hammilton]

Actually, there is good reason to suggest that the roots are not hepatotoxic, but I'm not sure that it's been properly studied.

 

[mgrady3]

^^ agreed. There's not much research there either way. I've read that the roots are ok but other parts of the plant can be hepatotoxic but who knows if thats entirely accurate:

This abstract alone pretty much sums it up, I'll check the rest of the article when I'm on campus later (assuming I have access) - https://www.thieme-connect.com/ejournals/abstract/plantamedica/doi/10.1055/s-2004-815533

 

[poopstation]

why not buy booze instead? I don't understand the logic behind using melatonin for relaxation.

i don't find melatonin recreational but i can give you dozens of reasons why not to drink alcohol. i stopped drinking when i was 21 in favor of more beneficial drugs. if mdma, lsd, etc, are illegal then alcohol should be illegal without a question as it is potentially far more damaging.

 

[slimvictor]

^ Agree

Alcohol is a very hard drug in many ways.

 

[psychomimetic]

why not buy booze instead? I don't understand the logic behind using melatonin for relaxation.

There's a few reasons to buy these instead of booze.

1. People are idiots who are thoughtlessly receptive to marketing.

2. Booze is bad for you.

3. Melatonin gives you better dreams.

 

[paranoid android]

^ Agree

Alcohol is a very hard drug in many ways.

Considering alcohol nearly killed me and i only quit when i realized there was a good chance that it would i would call alcohol a hard drug. Far worse then opiates, benzos or amphetamines for me.

 

[kaleidoscopeeyes]

totally, and its addicting

 

[Volcano]

Melatonin is active in the sub-gram range so I've always been curious why the pills can come in 3mg and 5mg varieties. I understand like 500-800mcg is plenty.

 

[slimvictor]

^　Yup. Overkill. Most people don't need 3mg, from what I understand.

 

[Miskatonic]

I got off booze 2+ weeks ago. I'd been accustomed to basically passing out every night for 2+ years, so the biggest problem after was getting to sleep. I have a mood disorder, so I have plenty of lorazepam lying around. Before I kicked alcohol, I cut back my midday dose of L, so I could stockpile the extras and use it to help get over the booze. But even then, getting to sleep was not always successful.

Tried melatonin. Holy crap. I had no idea an OTC item would be so effective. YMMV.

 

[mgrady3]

I've seen melatonin sold in 10mg tablets as "Maximum Strength" . . .
Rubbish!
its a silly marketing ploy.
melatonin isn't the type of compound you can make an "maximum strength" version of. It just doesn't work like that pharmacokinetically . . .