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RE: Jetlag - How To Get Over It 🛫
As melatonin is all natural and normally produced within the body, it can't do much harm other than giving your body signals to get tired (when it shouldn't). Actually wondering if it's a good thing to use for a jetlag, it might confuse your body even more.
The problem that you are trying to solve is not that your body is not producing melatonin, it's that it is producing it at the wrong time. Melatonin is produced in a cycle pertaining to your bodies waking/resting periods. This is why you get jet lag, your hormones (melatonin is a hormone) are on daily cycles from the old location, that do not match up with the days from your new location. Supplementing with melatonin before going to bed will create a large spike in your melatonin levels and your body will see that as the peak of its melatonin cycle and reset accordingly.
That's a good explanation, and why I am wondering how good it is for your body to suddenly change your melatonin level. I don't think your body is made to suddenly change this behaviour so rapidly with supplements.
If you're taking it once in a while to reset your circadian rhythm then it wont cause any issues.
As it is a hormone I'd agree with you that it's not a great idea to flood your body with it everyday. Men have an especially dangerous side effect from overdosing melatonin, it increases another hormone in your body, prolactin. This is not a big problem in Females, but in Males excess prolactin can cause liver and kidney problems. Taking too much melatonin can also cause insomnia, the exact opposite of what you'd expect. And to top it all off most supplements have way to much melatonin in them. The recommended dose is less than 1mg, but I've found 10mg melatonin pills in stores where I live.
Friendly PSA: Do your research if you're going to put anything in your body, food, medicine, or otherwise.
I havent used it by myself but I read many good things about it for the use of get over a jetlag. Maybe it´s worth a try?