this post was submitted on 19 Sep 2024
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A meme is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme.

An Internet meme or meme, is a cultural item that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. The name is by the concept of memes proposed by Richard Dawkins in 1972. Internet memes can take various forms, such as images, videos, GIFs, and various other viral sensations.


Laittakaa meemejä tänne.

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[–] Drewsteau 56 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (7 children)

FYI, every melatonin supplement is way too high of a dose and is completely saturating your melatonin receptors, leading to tolerance and dependency.

Your body is not producing more than .5mg of melatonin naturally, so taking a 5mg supplement is far too much. And they sell 15-20mg too. If you can find 1mg that’s best; but what’s even better in the long run is not using it!

[–] NikkiDimes 25 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

I know it's said over and over and over, but regular exercise!! There are certain types and times of exercise that are more effective, but generally speaking, exercise promotes serotonin conversion to melatonin and makes sleepy time easier.

[–] Drewsteau 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Absolutely! Additionally, morning sun is another great way to regulate your circadian clock and let your body start its internal timer for melatonin release.

In the winter, I use a light box for seasonal affective disorder, and in addition to feeling much more energized, I find it helps me get more consistent sleep!

[–] NikkiDimes 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Interesting. I have SAD, I'll look into this, thanks!

[–] Drewsteau 2 points 2 weeks ago

Please do! Research has shown that as little as 20 minutes of light therapy in the morning can have positive effects

[–] doingthestuff 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

We buy 1mg. Once we couldn't find any so we bought 3mg and cut them in half. I found it interesting that OP used actual dosage for caffeine but not for melatonin. Three pills could be 3mg or 60+.

[–] Drewsteau 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

That’s great! I really do think 1-1.5mg is the upper limit anyone should use, although it’s still higher than free melatonin concentration in your brain it’s a much more reasonable dose in comparison.

And I think most people who don’t understand melatonin go straight for the 20mg, so we’re probably talking 60+.

It really blows my mind that in this day and age there are no regulations or at the very least warnings or guidelines regarding melatonin supplements.

The gap in FDA policy for prescription drugs vs supplements is vast. Supplements have very few regulations and restrictions that create a lot of potential issues for the uninformed consumer.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Bioavailability of oral melatonin is very poor though. IIRC it's about 10%, so that 5mg sounds about right.

[–] Drewsteau 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

That’s a great point! You’re definitely right. I’m seeing somewhere between 10-30% depending on patient population.

That being said, since we are naturally releasing .5mg, another .5mg is already double the normal concentration.

Another major point of consideration though would be formulation, as that is going to have a large effect on the half life of the dose in your system. Even if bioavailability is around physiological concentration at 5mg, the duration of the exposure being much longer than the time it takes for natural release would still have negative impact.

All this being said, definitely never a reason to go above 5mg

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

700 mg of caffeine, is that like 29 coffees in a row?

[–] ceenote 35 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

Somewhere between 7 and 12, depending on the kind of coffee.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

It’s very presumptuous to rule out 350 decaf coffees.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago

What about a couple thousand decaffeinated espressos (there is certainly 0.x mg of caffeine in one, not 0)?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

So... They want their heart to explode.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

What? No, they also took melatonin, duh

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

They want their heart to explode in their sleep?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago

I mean, don't we all? Sure beats being awake for it.

[–] edgemaster72 24 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

If you get to 100 you unlock super speed

[–] Konstant 3 points 2 weeks ago

Super speed to heaven

[–] NielsBohron 21 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

There are no winners here.

Source: Tried for years to overpower the insomnia from my ADHD meds with melatonin, weed, CBD:THC edibles, booze, kava, diphenhydramine, etc. before finally going cold turkey on my adderall. With enough stimulants, it doesn't matter how much melatonin you take; you're not gonna have a good night's sleep edit: but you'll also be too tired to be productive or to do anything fun

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

I have no issues sleeping on 120mg of Vyvanse, I even find it easier to sleep.

Are you sure you're not misdiagnosed?

[–] NielsBohron 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Certainly possible, but I'm sort of a textbook mild case of ADHD, just with the side case of insomnia being fairly prominent (which was true even before medication). Everybody reacts to medication in different ways, so I've just found I have to rely on coping strategies more than medication for my case. It's not a big deal and I'm at a point in my life where I can manage my ADHD symptoms in a way that doesn't affect my life too much. So for me, the side effects of the medication exacerbate my preexisting insomnia to the point that the drawbacks of adderall outweigh the benefits for my particular brand of ADHD.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Did you take slow release aderall? My aderall is worn off before I go to sleep and I actually sleep better since I take aderall because I spend more energy during the day.

[–] NielsBohron 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

No it's IR, but taken 20 mg in the morning and then 10 mg in the early afternoon. It just always wound up with the physical effects lingering much longer than the mental effects, so if I tried skipping the afternoon dose, then I'd wind up totally scattered and useless from about 3PM on.

The XR once in the morning worked a little better, but for whatever reason didn't really help the same way and I still had the insomnia from it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

Ah that’s unfortunate. The side effects are pretty bad especially with a high dose of

[–] qed123 16 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago

So is not treating my ADHD in a healthy manner but I'm not fixing that either

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Not any more dangerous than taking 700mg of caffeine on its own

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

You mean in a single dose? I'll have ~~700mg~~ 1000mg over three hours often

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[–] teft 13 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Don't mix uppers and downers. That's how John Belushi and Phillip Seymour Hoffman died.

/S

[–] CluckN 19 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

/s means sarcastic so I should mix upper and downers?

[–] teft 17 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Sure, what could go wrong?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago

Peak science right here. Someone's getting their doctorate off the back of this study.

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[–] samus12345 12 points 2 weeks ago
[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

Caffeine works. Melatonin has never done anything for me; maybe I'm immune, but I've put it in the same mental basket as homeopathy.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Melatonin stimulates your bodies vitamin D creation, which makes you tired when it gets dark. It's not a magical bullet to solve insomnia, but it helps sleep regulation for people who don't get enough sunlight. You still need some sunlight though, just less.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

Taking vitamin D supplement (which anyone over 45° latitude should) doesn't make me more tired tho.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

So if you take vitamin D (e.g. D3) would that be better than taking melatonin?

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Melatonin actually has a scientific basis. It's a naturally produced hormone that will have an effect on most people, but being a hormone, ymmv. Homeopathy is pure quackery from top to bottom

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Could try and ask your doctor about cyproheptadine. Keeps me out cold

Let my parents both try it and they slept 8 solid hours.

It's also classed as an antihistamine for what that's worth.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Can melatonin even cross the blood brain barrier? Caffeine definitely can...

[–] Drewsteau 2 points 2 weeks ago

Hey, I commented elsewhere on this post and I wanted to let you know that the reason it doesn’t help you is likely because all melatonin supplements are way too strong!! Our body is releasing .3-.5mg of melatonin during the evening, and over the counter melatonin ranges from 5mg-20(!!)mg per pill.

As you can see, this is WAY too much for our body, and it saturates every melatonin receptor in the brain resulting in over signaling of these pathways and a tolerance to melatonin. People who consistently take it each night can really mess up the sleep related pathways in the brain, and the desensitization means that the naturally released melatonin is not even close to creating the proper response in the brain.

It can be difficult to find in some places, but if you’d like to use it there are 1mg supplements out there that I would recommend! :)

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

So caffeine binds to adenosine receptors to block adenosine's drowsiness effect. Melatonin binds to melatonin receptors to regulate circadian rhythms. As far as how adenosine interacts with melatonin, no idea. I'm no biochemist and what I'm about to say could be 100% incorrect, but it seems that adenosine is involved in melatonin production?

So if it's true that adenosine leads to melatonin production, then I'm guessing that the adenosine-blocking effect of caffeine would be (partially?) negated by ingesting a melatonin supplement, especially in the massive doses that they sell.

~~My money is on SLEEP.~~ [I got it backwards!! See below replies.]

[–] Drewsteau 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

You’re on the right track, but funnily enough you got it switched around!

Research shows that melatonin binding leads to downstream release of adenosine, so if caffeine is blocking its binding action sleep is not on the way!

Here’s the paper I am referencing: https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.neuron.2015.02.016

“We find that melatonin promotes sleep downstream of the circadian clock as it is not required to initiate or maintain circadian rhythms. Additionally, we provide evidence that melatonin may induce sleep in part by promoting adenosine signaling, thus potentially linking circadian and homeostatic control of sleep”

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago

Ohh so melatonin leads to adenosine production, which caffeine blocks. so NO SLEEP is the smart bet. that makes a lot of sense, yeah! and when you think about it, coffee at night is gonna make for poor sleep no matter how much melatonin you take.

[–] dejected_warp_core 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I feel like this is just a lower-stakes version of "RedBull & vodka." If that's true, @[email protected], then this is a recipe for a bad hangover.

[–] NikkiDimes 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I'd say higher stakes from the 700mg alone. RedBull has 80mg of caffeine.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago

If I need to sleep I take a half dose of Nyquil. That shit knocks me out. And nice side benefit of clearing my sinuses for a few days.

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