 Question is from Danny Burdick. If all other attempts to aid in better sleep result in no luck, is melatonin a safe supplement to cycle on and off? So let's start with the all other attempts part. What is that? Yeah. I wish I would have got a list. There's, if you're not able to sleep, okay, cause sleep is fundamental. It's a fundamental, you have to sleep. In fact, lack of sleep can actually lead to death. There've been studies, there's just really terrible studies that were done a long time ago where they would actually prevent people from sleeping. And people went mad. They went crazy. It can actually kill you. So your body has to sleep. If you're having issues sleeping, something is wrong, either physiologically or what's common is psychologically. There's something going on mentally there. So examine all of those things. So if you're like, okay, well, I turn off my lights a couple hours before bed. I'm not on my electronics. I'm not eating food too soon, you know, before bed. I'm not taking any stimulants. That's a big one. People like, I can't sleep and I'm doing all these other things. I'm like, do you have caffeine? Well, yes, I do. So you're getting adequate movement throughout the day. Yeah. Are you getting sunlight during the day? Cause sunlight during the day actually helps set your circadian rhythm so you can sleep at night. Are you having any stimulants at all? Believe it or not to people who are, who have sleep issues, as little as 20 to 50 milligrams of caffeine anytime during the day. Even if it's first thing in the morning, will affect their sleep. So look at- Have you tested cortisol and hormonal levels? Look at all those things. There's a lot of things. Melatonin is very, very much on the bottom of the system. Look at all those things. Now, in terms of melatonin being safe, well, first off, it's very safe. It's a non-toxic hormone that you can use. But if you use it for relatively long period of time, you're probably gonna suppress your own body's melatonin production. So like other hormones, there's a feedback loop. So if I'm on testosterone, if I take testosterone, then my body will stop producing testosterone. If I'm taking melatonin all the time, my body may stop producing or lower its production of melatonin. Now I'm in a bad position. Now, if I go off, my sleep was worse than it was before and I have to go through that period of letting my body come back to normal. Studies show that a very low dose of melatonin is best. So when you go to the store and you see one milligram, two milligram, three milligrams of testosterone, even one milligram is too much. Studies show that it's about a quarter to half a milligram of melatonin seems to be best for people who use it. And it probably should be used intermittently. It also, in some people, if they don't take a time-release version, they'll find themselves waking up in the middle of the night. So they'll take it before they go to bed, helps them go to sleep. That's what you used to do to me. And then wake up when it was off. It would knock me out and I'd sleep hard for like a few hours, but then I'd wake up and then I couldn't go back to sleep. Yeah, yeah. So time-release probably better because it's slowly dripping, but it doesn't really mimic how your body releases melatonin. Your body doesn't really release melatonin that way. So it's like a band-aid. I like using it for travel. So if you're traveling somewhere where there's a three, four-hour difference, it can help set your circadian rhythm, but it's still not as good as changing how you eat and getting sunlight. Like if you travel somewhere, don't eat when it's dark in the place you're traveling to because your organs, your internal organs, including your stomach has like a circadian rhythm. Get sunlight when the sun is out. Make sure it's dark when it's dark to the place that you're traveling to. But yeah, there's a lot of things you need. And if you think you're doing everything and it's still not working, I would see a therapist because there's a lot that goes on in your mind that will affect your sleep. But the only thing, one of the only things that'll keep me up at night more than anything else is worry. Oh, anxiety. Oh yeah. I have a client of mine that I talked to on a regular basis. She struggles with sleep big time. And she's addressing a lot of the other stuff, the nutrition and everything that Sal just named. But the biggest thing that I know she's got, she's got a lot of anxiety and stress and that's enough to throw it off. Super common. It's definitely something else. Like nobody should have to take melatonin to get to sleep. Can it be used as a tool? Yeah, I think absolutely. I think it's totally safe to be used as a tool. But at what point does, I asked this question about anything. We were having an off air conversation about this. We were talking about drugs, caffeine, marijuana, like everything. And I've just, I never wanna be dependent on anything. Like when does something go from a tool to being, you becoming dependent on it? Like what's that point? Like you have to be honest with yourself. If you're taking melatonin every single night, is it really a tool anymore? Or is it something that you've become dependent on as an aid to get you to sleep and you require that? And personally, no matter what all the thing, and I openly talk about all the different stuff that I use, I'm always very careful of how often or how consistent I'm using anything. And if I'm having to use something that consistently, then I feel like there's a deeper issue that I need to address. Yeah. Here's the top. There's also apnea too. Yeah, that's a good point. Which is like, I mean, this is something that a couple of my clients, my family had to go through this process of like getting sleep tested. And that's why mentioning that's good because you don't know. Like unless your partner knows exactly that you're like a back sleeper and they can hear this, like there's moments where you wake yourself up and you're like choking on your own air. It's hard to tell like that you have it. So it's good to have like some tests. No, that's a good point. See a sleep specialist because what they'll do is they'll monitor you for a night or two and then they'll be able to, if it is sleep apnea, it's a game changer. I mean, you wear one of those, what are they called? CPAP. CPAP machine. The change in your sleep quality. I mean, I have a family member who, you know, she uses CPAP machine. She's like, I can't, I didn't realize how bad it was because I woke up for the first time feeling rested and I didn't even know what it felt like to feel fully rested since using this thing. Here's a few things that you can do that'll make a huge impact. Get activity daily. Don't use any stimulants whatsoever, including mild stimulants like chocolate. Avoid all stimulants completely. Get sunshine when the sun is out. So when the sun is out, go outside. It sets your circadian rhythm. It really makes a big difference. Turn down or turn off your lights and go by candlelight or you wear blue blockers about two hours before bed and don't eat anything about a few hours before going to bed and then make sure your room is cool. Make sure everything is cool in your room. So either use AC or use a product like the chili pad or Ulur on your bed that keeps your temperature of the bed a nice cool temperature. Those things right there can help a lot of people. And then if you're past that point, I'd say see a sleep specialist. But the last option is to take, and I'm not knocking, you know, taking sleep aids or melatonin because at the end of the day, getting some sleep is definitely better than getting no sleep. So I'm not knocking it, but if you're not able to sleep, there's probably a reason why.