Melatonin vs Gaba

[sarena kopciel]

So the deal, my husband eats a SAD although he will eat what I prepare which is paleo. However, he eats other things as well. he doesnt exercise either (I know!!). He couldnt care less about sleep hygiene either and works long hours which can be stressful.

He always slept only 5-7 hours and I will add, that he snores. Recently however, he is sleeping even less or barely at all. He is very troubled by this and it is adding up. he asked me to get him melatonin. For me, it never helped. Gaba did help when I had sleep issues but caused me to have wild vivid dreams.

Any thoughts or advice on how to help him with supplements? I know it's kinda silly as he will not make lifestyle changes. Thanks

[Steven Low]

Well, sleep can be better by lots of different means.

Whatever works best for him I would say go with. Melatonin, gaba derivatives, l-threonine, magnesium, tryptophan, magnesium, etc.

The problem is that SAD is deficient in a lot of stuff so it's hard to tell what is causing problems. Could just be the stress levels too.

But good nutrition is important as good sleep so... just make extra when you cook stuff and make him take it with him to eat?

[Garrett Smith]

First I would check D3 and magnesium levels, if they haven't already been addressed.

Stick with low-dose (1.5-3mg) of sustained-release melatonin if you're going to try it.

If you try GABA, I'd go with phenibut aka PhGABA or PharmaGABA. Know that a tolerance is often quickly reached with this. If this works, then I would switch to a supplement that affects GABA pathways (ie. passionflower affects GABA pathways).

An Adrenal Stress Index saliva cortisol test is always one of the first tests to do in these situations.

[sarena kopciel]

Thanks both Steve and Garrett. Believe me, I tell him he has to reign his lifestyle in but he refuses. He tried the melatonin last night and claims he slept 1/2 hr longer.