Metabolic Longevity · 10mg × 10 vials
In plain terms: Melatonin is a research compound — oral, fast-acting and well studied.
Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) is the pineal-gland hormone the brain secretes in darkness to signal "biological night" to the rest of the body. It is synthesized in pinealocytes from serotonin via two enzymatic steps (AANAT acetylates serotonin to N-acetylserotonin, then HIOMT methylates it to melatonin), with secretion gated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus through a sympathetic pathway that fires only when retinal light input drops. Once released, melatonin acts on two high-affinity G-protein-coupled receptors, MT1 (MTNR1A) and MT2 (MTNR1B), distributed across the SCN itself, the retina, vasculature, immune cells, gut, and reproductive tissue. MT1 binding suppresses SCN neuronal firing (the "lights out" signal to the master clock), while MT2 mediates the phase-shifting properties that let dosing time advance or delay the circadian curve. Beyond receptor signaling, melatonin and its metabolites (AFMK, AMK, 6-hydroxymelatonin) are direct free-radical scavengers and indirect antioxidants, upregulating glutathione, SOD, and catalase, and protecting mitochondrial DNA from oxidative damage. This dual role (chronobiotic hormone plus broad-spectrum mitochondrial antioxidant) is why melatonin shows up in three completely different conversations: as a sleep aid, as a circadian-shift tool (jet lag, shift work, DSPS), and as a high-dose adjunct in oncology and longevity protocols. Critical pharmacologic point that almost no consumer label conveys: the dose-response curve for sleep onset is inverse-U. Roughly 0.3 mg matches the endogenous nocturnal pulse and gives the cleanest sleep-onset effect; doses above 1-3 mg saturate receptors, downregulate MT1/MT2, push plasma levels 10-50x physiologic, and routinely produce next-day grogginess, vivid dreams, and tolerance, without improving sleep onset further. Anti-aging and oncology adjunct protocols use a completely different rationale (antioxidant load, oncostatic signaling, immunomodulation), not the sleep-receptor saturation logic, which is why those protocols deliberately run 10-180 mg and tolerate the next-day sedation as a non-issue.
Typical dose ranges by experience level — educational reference. Message us and we tailor it to you.
This is the dose Richard Wurtman's MIT group identified as physiologically optimal in the foundational 1994-2001 studies and is what serious sleep clinicians prescribe. It matches the endogenous nocturnal pulse (~0.1-0.3 mg natural secretion). At this dose, next-day grogginess is essentially absent, vivid dreams are minimal, and tolerance does not develop the way it does at retail doses. For SubQ from MT10, dilute 10 mg + 10 ml BAC = 1 mg/ml so a 0.3 mg dose draws as 0.3 ml = 30 IU on a U-100 insulin syringe.
3 mg is roughly the inflection point where next-day grogginess and vivid-dream complaints become common in community reports. This band is also where most retail products sit, which is why the public perception of melatonin is "makes me feel drugged" rather than "fixes my sleep". For injectable use, dilute MT10 at 1 mg/ml or 5 mg/ml depending on which math is cleaner.
At this band the rationale shifts entirely off the sleep-receptor curve onto antioxidant/immunomodulatory/oncostatic mechanisms. Next-day sedation is the cost of admission and most high-dose users adapt within 2-3 weeks. MT10 kit (10 vials × 10 mg) covers 10 nights at 10 mg or 5 nights at 20 mg, so high-dose users typically order multi-kit. Pierpaoli's published anti-aging protocol uses 3 mg sublingual evening for general use and escalates only in specific contexts; Lissoni's oncology work standardised on 20 mg evening for metastatic disease.
Straight talk — what people actually report, and what the studies measured.
Peer-reviewed studies and clinical guidelines — tap any to read the source.
foundational MIT work establishing 0.3 mg as the physiologic dose
Read study ↗PubMedBrzezinski meta-analysis, melatonin and sleep in adults, Sleep Medicine Reviewssleep-onset latency reduction, modest effect size
Read study ↗PubMedReiter et al, melatonin as broad-spectrum antioxidant and mitochondrial protectormechanism review for the high-dose antioxidant rationale
Read study ↗PubMedMT1/MT2 receptor pharmacology, Dubocovich et alreceptor binding, downregulation, circadian phase shift
Read study ↗PubMedLissoni et al, melatonin in metastatic solid tumors, meta-analysisoncology adjunct, 20 mg evening dosing, survival and chemo-tolerance signal
Read study ↗PubMedPierpaoli & Regelson, pineal melatonin and aging in miceoriginal high-dose anti-aging mouse work
Read study ↗Aggregated sentiment from public forums & socials — real-world reports, not individual endorsements.
"Drugged feeling next morning": dominant complaint at retail 5-10 mg doses, resolves on switching to 0.3 mg
- Divergence: RCTs flag this at 5-15% incidence at 1-3 mg, community reports it at 40-60% at 5-10 mg retail dosing, which is the dose almost everyone is actually taking off-the-shelf. The literature is calibrated to "appropriate dose" use; the real world is calibrated to "whatever Walgreens sells".
Vivid dreams / nightmares: most-common community complaint at 5-10 mg, fades when dropping to 0.3-0.5 mg
Tolerance / loss of effect over weeks: reported on r/sleep and r/Nootropics by users running 3-10 mg nightly, consistent with MT1/MT2 receptor downregulation literature. Not reported at 0.3 mg micro-dose.
Mood blunting / depressive symptoms: reported by a minority of long-term high-dose users, mostly anecdotal
"Hangover" from injectable high-dose: high-dose anti-aging users (20+ mg) describe a 30-60 min "knockout" window followed by deep sleep and a 1-2 hr morning fog that fades by mid-morning. Most adapt in 2-3 weeks.
Route: SubQ injection (PP catalog format, MT10 lyophilised vial). Oral tablets/sublingual lozenges are the dominant retail format outside of PP, and most published RCTs use oral dosing. Injectable melatonin is used in research, surgical premedication studies, and high-dose oncology adjunct protocols where bioavailability of oral dosing is the limiting factor.
Injection site: abdomen or outer thigh, rotate sites. Subcutaneous, small insulin needle.
Storage: refrigerated 2-8 C, ~14-21 days after reconstitution. Melatonin is light-sensitive (it degrades under UV and visible light), so amber vials or foil-wrapping the reconstituted vial extends shelf life. Lyophilised vials store best frozen at -20 C for long-term hold; refrigerator hold is fine for 6-12 months unopened.
Notes: Inject 30-60 min before desired sleep onset for the sleep-aid use case. For circadian phase advance (jet lag east-bound, DSPS correction), inject 4-6 hours before current sleep onset. For high-dose anti-aging or oncology protocols, evening administration is still preferred to align with the endogenous night pulse. Light exposure during dosing window blunts the signal. Avoid alcohol within 2 hours of dosing (compounds CNS depression and disrupts the same architecture melatonin is trying to clean up).