Im interested to know if anyone has experience of using Melatonin to help with sleep issues.
This hormone in the pineal gland works with our circadian rhythms and vital for signalling our bodies to know when we should sleep.
Iāve heard that the plant 
St . John Worts has melatonin
Great question. Melatonin has often been used as a supplement to help with disturbed sleep - airline crews use it a lot Iām told! Unfortunately it canāt be bought in the UK where I am any more but in the US it is still available over the counter.
Saint Johnās Wort doesnāt contain melatonin (because itās the actual hormone that our bodies produce) but one of the chemicals in SJW is thought to increase melatonin metabolism - meaning so it enhances it, if you like.
You need to take care using SJW as it has a long list of drug interactions so need to check that out carefully first.
Hope thatās helpful!
Iāve used melatonin before. I didnt find it very helpful. But remember, every one is different and what works for one, may not work for another
Thanks @pamelaspence for your feedback and especially on Melatonin/SJW
I have to take melatonin nightly to fall asleep - been taking it now for several years but I started off with 50mcg childrenās chewable because it triggered night terrors I used to have a a kid if I took adult dosage. I have gradually increased over the years and now take a 3mg dose (chewable from Trader Joeās) nightly or I cannot wind down to sleep. I still have problems waking up throughout the night but I can fall asleep and get a decent amount of sleep in before first wake up (generally). If I take another dose when I wake up and canāt get back to sleep, I will sometimes take another half dose but it will leave me groggier when itās time to wake up.
I have been told (by my physician) not to take St. Johnās Wort because of other medication but am trying to wean off pharmaceuticals to be able to try itā¦ was told that melatonin was safe however.
Ive only had melatonin once when i was in the states, in the form of a āherbal sleep shotā (Melatonin, 5-HTP, and a proprietary herbal blend that thinking about it now probably contained valerian!) I drank 2 as the bottle reccomended and slept throughout the flight and experienced no jetlag which was honestly quite amazing.
Sadly itās a prescription only medicine in my country (the UK) but a supplement many other places otherwise i would continue using it. Here its easier to be prescribed Z-drugs such as Zopiclone than it is to obtain pure melatonin.
Ive also taken St Johns Wort but as others said this reacts very strongly with many drugs so i would make sure you check its suitable for you before using it! Perhaps also an option to consider could be 5-HTP as I believe this indirectly helps boost melatonin as it is converted to its precursor, setotonin. that definitely helped me sleep better at night even taken in daytime after a few days, though i was mainly taking it for depressed mood. They can harvest it from a seed as far as I know so itās also considered herbal.
I used to take melatonin when I lived in Brazil, there like in the US, itās sold otc. Itās not sold in the UK and Europe unfortunately. It gave me the most restorative sleep Iāve ever had. It was at the time prescribed to me by an endocrinologist. In the UK, where I live now, I tried 5-HTP and although itās ok, itās nothing like the experience I had with melatonin. The day-after is really not great. 
I had no idea that melatonin was so regulated/unavailable outside the US. I have thought it was not a good idea to be making a childrenās chewable OTC here in the states but then again, we have a gazillion varieties of energy drinks available for parents to give their children too 
I didnāt know that it was available as a chewable let alone chewable. Maybe more supplements should be chewable. Even though I can take āhorse pillsā without a drink I think something chewable would be easier to take and possibly work faster.
This is the first Iāve heard that melatonin wasnāt available OTC worldwide.
Hi there I have used melatonin before and yes it was very good at first it certainly helped to make you sleepy and fall asleep. After using it for a couple of weeks I think your tolerance builds and it becomes less effective but still I donāt believe you should use it every night maybe a couple of nights per week. 
Iāve tried melatonin patches, didnāt find them useful for me. Iām uk and you can get them. 5 http I take daily, again not sure why as no affect.
Again just because it doesnāt work for some, doesnāt mean it wonāt work for others. Try it for yourself.
I used it before to fight jet-lag; and it worked every time for me.
Usually took it on the day of travel and the day after; and jet-lags were significantly shorter.
Bought it OTC in Singapore.
@PaulaD Youāre welcome! Happy to help 
Also like people have mentioned melatonin from a doctor is hard to get proscribed zolpidem is easier for some reason 
but if you look into the bodybuilding supplements you can find it, unfortunately didnāt work for me but thats not to say it wont help tye next person.
@alexdeans288 Interestingā¦ .95mg seems like a very low dose for an adult. The āchildrenāsā chewable melatonin I used to get at Trader Joeās is .5 mg and now can only find the chewable in 3mg tabs (though it no longer says āchildrenās chewable). Maybe the dose being so low is why it didnāt work for you? 
