Does anyone have issues with melatonin causing dreams?

Posted by royanthony @royanthony, 2 days ago

I've been taking an over-the-counter non-addictive melatonin chewable with Zolpidem, but if lucky (and on extremely rare occasions) I get 6 hrs sleep max; mostly 5 max. My GP concurred that melatonin will induce dreams. I've realized it seems that this is what wakes me up after 4/5 hours of sleep. I hope this helps someone.

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John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | 2 days ago

Hello @royanthony, There are quite a few others who have mentioned dreams while taking melatonin. Here's a search link that lists the discussions and member comments - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/discussions/?search=melatonin%20and%20dreams%20

royanthony | @royanthony | 1 day ago

Thank you J.B. I will definitely read over the weekend.

gloaming | @gloaming | 1 day ago

In reply to @royanthony "Thank you J.B. I will definitely read over the weekend." + (show)

Some soporifics work better than others, depending on the issue and the patient harboring them. Sleep is a multi-stage event if done well, and long enough, and that last one is 'the rub', so-to-speak.

You need roughly 90 minutes to experience the first round of REM sleep where we dream. Interruptions of all kinds, whether anxiety, pain, noises, discomfort due to pillow arrangement or being too warm under too many blankets, etc., will often interrupt each cycle in people with disturbed sleep patterns. When we take a drug that works well for our genotype, it can get us through repeated cycles, and when that happens, we awaken to find ourselves just having dreamed, usually after about 6.5-7.5 hours in total. So, yes, we probably DO dream more, which is good, but we also sleep 'further' and often awaken after one late dream thinking we've been dreaming all night.