Melatonin is always the supplement recommended for sleep. Because it is the hormone that the brain produces to invoke sleep, scientists and doctors have recommended it as the ‘goto supplement’ for insomnia. Recent research however has shown that melatonin has unwanted side effects – the two notable ones being:
– it can cause the body to produce less of it and
– it causes drowsiness because the human body produces a very small amount of melatonin, much lower than the usual recommended dosing of 5mg
So, what are alternatives to melatonin? According to Dr. Andrew Huberman, a better choice is to take a cocktail of the following:
Magnesium (in the form of l-theonate or bi-glycinate)
L-theanine
Apiginine
Myoinositol (this especially helps with staying asleep)
Please watch Dr. Huberman’s podcast outlining the details of the above cocktail over here