Melatonin is not a sedative; it's a hormone that signals to your brain that it's nighttime. Meta-analyses show it only reduces the time to fall asleep by about 3-4 minutes. Its primary effective uses are for managing jet lag or specific circadian rhythm disorders.
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Contrary to concerns from animal studies about endocrine disruption, human data and Dr. D'Agostino's self-experimentation with high doses (up to 30mg) show no suppression of key hormones like testosterone, LH, or FSH. This suggests it can be used safely for its neuroprotective and antioxidant benefits.
Sleep is not linear. The sleep cycle architecture shifts across the night, with the final hours being disproportionately rich in REM sleep. Cutting 8 hours of sleep down to 6 (a 25% reduction) can result in losing 50-70% of your total REM sleep, which is vital for emotional and creative processing.
Insomnia is often maintained by 'conditioned arousal,' where your brain learns to associate your bed with being awake (from working, watching TV, or worrying in it). To break this, if you're awake for 20 minutes, get out of bed until you're sleepy again to re-teach your brain that bed is only for sleep.
Bryan Johnson suggests focusing on a single metric: pre-sleep resting heart rate. Lowering it through specific habits (like eating 4 hours before bed) improves sleep quality, which in turn boosts your prefrontal cortex, enhancing willpower and alleviating mental health issues.
The popular belief that blue light from devices is the primary sleep disruptor is a myth. New research shows the main issue is the psychologically activating nature of the content (e.g., social media, email) which mutes sleepiness, especially in anxious or impulsive individuals.
Unlike sedatives, DORA-class sleep aids (Dual Orexin Receptor Antagonists) work by inhibiting wakefulness, creating more natural sleep architecture. Research suggests this may improve the brain's ability to clear beta-amyloid and tau proteins linked to Alzheimer's disease, offering a potential preventative strategy.
The popular advice to take magnesium for sleep is often flawed. Most common forms of magnesium (like oxide or citrate) do not cross the blood-brain barrier. Since sleep is a brain process, these supplements are unlikely to have a direct effect unless an individual is clinically deficient.
Unlike sedatives like Ambien, a new class of medication (DORAs) works by dialing down the brain's wakefulness chemical (orexin). This allows for naturalistic sleep that is functionally beneficial, proven to increase the brain's cleansing of beta amyloid and tau protein, which are linked to Alzheimer's disease.
Studies show that regularity—going to bed and waking up at the same time—outweighs sleep quantity in predicting all-cause mortality. People with the most regular sleep schedules have a 49% lower risk of premature death compared to those with irregular schedules.
Regardless of the primary goal—be it focus, anxiety, or performance—99% of neurofeedback clients report improved sleep as the first noticeable change. This typically occurs within the first 5 to 15 sessions, signaling that the brain is beginning to self-regulate more effectively.
