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I was suffering from severe insomnia for several months last year (and I'm about your age) when I started taking melatonin because I didn't want to use sleeping pills. I talked to my doctor about it later and she recommended that I stop using it on a regular basis. Apparently, though 3mg is the recommended dose (10mg is the maximum amount recommended on the side of the bottle), 3mg is hundreds of times more than your body would naturally produce to make you sleepy. To me, that just doesn't seem very safe. Unfortunately, there haven't been any long-term studies on melatonin supplements going either way. I've heard that the only reason it is still produced and on the market is for warding off jetlag.
My first piece of advice is to take government recommended portions/doses with a huge grain of salt because the government's only job is to warn us about what will poison (as in kill) us or make us seriously ill. Any negative effects up to that point are hardly mentioned, if ever.
My second piece of advice is to limit your melatonin intake to nights when you _really_ need it (ie. you have a big exam the next day and you need your rest) and only for one night. Two nights in only the direst of circumstances.
Your bad dreams are probably symptoms (along with your insomnia) of a larger problem you're dealing with right now. I wish you lots of luck in finding the source of your troubled nights. Sleep well!
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"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
(Michael Jordan)
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