Has anyone tried using melatonin to make their natural "bedtime" earlier?

Question

I have a hard time falling asleep anytime before midnight to 1am and need about 9-10 hrs of sleep to feel "normal", but my 2 year old son wakes up at 7 am. I can't seem to get to bed earlier because I'm just not tired yet. I'm going to try using melatonin (1mg) to get my body clock reset. Has anyone tried this? How did you feel? Oh, I have bipolar disorder, and my inordinate sleep need is caused by my medication. I am not "lazy"...

My psychiatrist had suggested that I try using a new sleep medication that affects the production of melatonin, but he also said I could try the OTC supplement first.

I just went off lithium to get pregnant (not preggo yet, won't be trying for another month), and am still taking Lexapro and Seroquel. The prob is that, no matter what time I take my meds at night, I still don't go to sleep at a reasonable time. I looked up something called "delayed sleep phase syndrome", and think that's my problem...

Answer 1

For me, melatonin only worked to clear gross abnormalities in body clock time, such as crossing the atlantic and being 7 hours out of whack.

My sleep problems are also due to being bipolar, and the only thing that puts me out reliably is Zyprexa. You don't say what meds you're on, but quite a few bipolar meds can be very sedating.

Answer 2

I have taken melatonin to correct my sleep pattern. I usually took it one to two hours before I wanted to go to bed. That worked for me and I felt very well rested in the morning. Try it and see what happens. I hope it helps.:-)