Melatonin is a hormone related to your body's circadian rhythm, mainly sleeping. It is a light-suppressed hormone produced by the pituitary gland, meaning it only is made at night. It's what makes you become tired and, in addition to light levels, is also affected by your sleep schedule. That's why melatonin supplements help you adapt to an early bedtime better than sleeping pills would-they help retrain your circadian rhythm. If you're taking it as a supplement, remember that your body produces a certain amount for a reason-it isn't like a vitamin or mineral, which you NEED to take in. Your body produces all the melatonin it needs. However, melatonin has been shown to help dream vividness and recall, as you have experienced. There are possibilities of side effects, as is with any hormonal supplement, or any sort of medicine for that matter. However, it's sold over the counter for a reason-it's probably not going to kill you. I am fairly certain that there isn't a possibility of dependency because if there was, you would slowly lose the ability to fall asleep at night, or your pituitary gland would have to produce incrementally more as you aged. Neither of these things happen, so I don't think there's a dependency risk. Might want to look it up somewhere or ask a doctor if you have concerns, though.
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