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When you're constantly waking up in the middle of the night and wasting the last of your precious sleeping hours wide awake, reaching for a bottle of melatonin may seem like a great idea. It's readily available, and it's supposed to help you sleep . .

. right? Sleep deprivation can make this logic seem sound, but experts say taking melatonin in the middle of the night can actually make your sleep schedule even worse. How? We'll let the pros explain.



Michael Breus , PhD, is a sleep specialist and clinical psychologist. Max Kerr , DDS, is a board-certified dental sleep medicine specialist based in Austin, Texas. When to Take Melatonin — and When to Hold Off Sleep specialist Michael Breus, PhD, explains that, while taking melatonin is generally safe and may help you fall back asleep, popping the supplement after you've already gone to bed can cause you to feel groggy in the morning, which sort of defeats the purpose of taking it in the first place.

"Melatonin is not a sleeping pill. It's a sleep regulator," Dr. Breus tells PS.

"It changes the time your body wants to sleep." He also cautions that taking an incorrect dose of melatonin can have adverse effects. "At too high of a dose, [melatonin] causes nightmares," Dr.

Breus says. He typically recommends 1.5 milligrams for adults and warns that many melatonin supplements contain much more than that.

Max Kerr, DDS, agrees that if your sleep schedule is relatively normal, taking between 0.3 and 2 milligrams of melatonin an hour be.

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