I can only speak to my own and my husband’s experiences.

He and I take 5 mg per night. Yes, we do have dreams that we can vividly recall but nothing frightening. Our dreams are more “interesting” rather than frightening. We enjoy recollecting them and analyzing them together.

Before Melatonin, my husband was having night terrors fairly often about being chased by animals or about fending off intruders. Sometimes, this would result in my being hit. I actually moved into a guest bedroom for awhile.

He prefers the interesting dreams to the night terrors and I have resumed sleeping with him. For us, it’s a “win-win.” He sleeps more peacefully, I get to sleep with him, and I get to observe him and better ensure that if he does have an episode, he won’t fall out of bed. I still hug a pillow though to create a soft barrier just in case he hits or punches.

Another benefit is that he hardly naps during the day anymore because he is sleeping better at night, He used to “nap” 3-4 hrs in the afternoon. Now it’s an occasional 30-60 minute nap.

He still experiences weird body movements most nights usually 3-4 hrs into sleep but they don’t last as long as they used to.

We figured that the worst case scenario would be that Melatonin wouldn’t work or it would stop working, in which case he would stop taking it. So far...so good.

Perhaps this is a bandaid approach to a bigger undiagnosed problem, but until I can convince him to see a doctor for a true diagnosis, it will have to do.

I prefer to see him taking OTC Melatonin than prescription meds that may cause daytime loopiness.

Also, with Melatonin, he can stop taking it on a dime...it’s not addictive and requires no weaning off as there would be with a prescription drug.