[JonChesterfield]

Melatonin.

There's loads of wisdom about improving sleep. Exercise, wind down rituals, avoiding caffeine, various diet ideas. Changing bedtime, changing alarm time. Nothing made a perceptible difference. Dropping caffeine was especially useless advice as it has no impact on my sleep but made me much less effective.

Melatonin tablets however are magic. My pet theory is the CYP1A2 genotype which is known to control how effectively you eliminate caffeine also affects how effectively you eliminate melatonin. Being unusually efficient at metabolising melatonin seems likely to present as insomnia.

[jghn]

This. I used to lay awake for hours, my mind racing. Started taking melatonin every night about 30 mins before going to bed and life has much improved. Once in a while I’ll lay awake like the old days but for the most part I’m out quickly. I never was able to find anything that worked like this

[xanderlewis]

I can (anecdotally) back that up. Coffee has no perceivable effect on me; I drink several cups a day (because I enjoy the taste, and the ritual) but often go without and don’t notice any difference whatsoever.

However, I’ve had trouble falling asleep for as long as I can remember.

[terr-dav]

A word of caution on melatonin supplementation: https://ai.hubermanlab.com/s/NKoA_QuI

[WalterSear]

Huberman takes jumps of logic that no respectable scientist should. Matt Walker has had a paper retracked, and his book on sleep is controversial to say the least:

https://guzey.com/books/why-we-sleep/

In this case, Huberman's neglects to address the fact that melatonin production is reduced as we age, not just in those with pineal gland calcification. He provides no sources for the argument that commercial preparations are inconsistent, and (IIRC) fails to even approach or suggest a solution to the much more problematic fact that even the lowest available dosages are an order of magnitude more than is appropriate. If he thinks it has merit for jet-lag and calcified pineal gland, at least he could instruct people how to take it appropriately.

I used to respect him, avidly listen to every show until I noticed how almost reactantly uninformed he appears to keep himself of anything he's already passed judgement on, as well as the dearth criticality with which treats the sometimes questionable guests on his show.

Also the Athletic Greens thing: someone who's pupporting to be purveying knowledge for the goodness of mankind should not be peddling snake oil, whether he likes the flavour or not.

[JonChesterfield]

The health risks associated with insomnia are stroke and dementia.