It’s no secret that as we get older we encounter difficulties both falling asleep as well as staying asleep. Personally, in the past few years I’ve had more restless nights than I can count. When I need to sleep, I can’t, and when I don’t want to sleep, I’m out like a light. Sleep, much like Stormy Daniels, is a cruel mistress who haunts you and makes you regret your past life decisions.
About three months ago, I finally took my friends advice and decided that I was going to try a sleep aid in the form of melatonin. Natural melatonin that is produced by our body is to help humans fall asleep. The melatonin that we take, is synthetic and isn’t necessarily meant to treat our issues with sleep. Many of my friends have been raving and swearing by this magical sleep aid. In all honesty, I’m not one who believes in medications, pills or any form of treatments. I believe the body is strong enough to work itself out and heal itself and reset itself when it needs to. While many people gasp and feign utter shock when I tell them that, it’s something I have stood by.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t stand by anymore and have another sleepless night. I decided that I was going to try out these melatonin gummies. After a trip to Target (where I for once only went in for what I needed), I took the first dosage of melatonin that night (they also tasted great). While I wouldn’t say that I necessarily fell asleep quicker, I did find that my sleep was much deeper.
That deep sleep would present its own problem however. When I would awake in the mornings after I took the melatonin, I found that waking up was a total nightmare. My whole body felt like I had been hit by a yellow school bus (circa Mean Girls) and I had absolutely no energy. Unsurprisingly, I decided to keep taking the melatonin gummies straight for about another week and that is when I noticed that my sleep habits and patterns were starting to shift back to normal.
During my melatonin dosing process, I had posted a Facebook status asking friends their thoughts on melatonin and a friend of mine who is a nurse replied that melatonin isn’t all that good for you. I took her advice seriously because 1) she’s a medical professional and 2) science backed up what she was saying. I was thoroughly disappointed that my sleep issues weren’t going to be solved by taking melatonin and I am one of the many millions suffering from the disorder also known as insomnia.
Since I started using the melatonin and in turn learning that it was in fact not meant to treat my insomnia, I have been taking it sparingly in hopes it will help. I’m a hopeless sleepaholic looking for a good night rest and not to wake up a zombie the next day. For me sleeping through the night, uninterrupted for eight hours is my own white whale I hope to chase down one day.
Featured image via Unsplash
