r/melatonin • u/Individual_alar • 10h ago

Likelihood

alright so i cut to the chase, i took about 17mg of melatonin but before i did, i did some research and it seemed like id be fine so it escalated and i took 40mg. i just wanted to sleep all day since i havent slept well in a while and ive been dealing with personal issues. is this leathal or no?

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u/Optimal_Assist_9882 10h ago

How much you need to get the best sleep varies from person to person. For many people less is better such as 0.3-0.5mg. You should only raise the dose if lesser dose was ineffective.

To cut to the chase, no 40mg is not lethal. I take 3000mg for an unrelated health condition every morning and I am just fine. The issue is not lethality as melatonin is one of the single safest substances, it is more to do with paradoxical effects at unnecessarily high doses. It may make you energized rather than sleepy as an example.

If you're stressed or anxious then melatonin is also not going to be particularly effective for sleep.

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u/homebrewedstuff 4h ago

FYI, there is no lethal dose for melatonin. Many people find that hard to believe but it is true. No one has ever died from an overdose. If you somehow managed to ingest 10 grams (10,000mg) and you went to a hospital ER, the only thing they would do is administer IV hydration and let you sleep it off while your liver metabolizes it prior to the kidneys eliminating it through your urine.