A year ago, my dad stumbled across a video that stopped him in his tracks. Some guy with a quirky accent, The Anti-Aging Channel, was raving about taking 1,000 milligrams of melatonin every single day.
Not 1 mg, not 10 mg… one thousand. That is high-dose melatonin.
“Yep, you read it right. It wasn’t a misprint, and it’s not clickbait,” the video immediately opens. “I do actually take 1,000 mg of melatonin a day.”
Curiosity got the better of us, and down the rabbit hole we went.
What we found blew our minds. High-dose melatonin isn’t just about sleep: it’s a potential powerhouse for energy, disease prevention, and overall vitality.
This article is our deep dive into why high-dose melatonin might be worth your attention, based on the latest research from leading melatonin specialist Doris Loh, the Anti-Aging Channel dude’s bold experiments, and a little detective work of our own.
How We Got Hooked on High-Dose Melatonin
It all started with The Anti-Aging Channel. This guy, a life-extension consultant with over 30 years under his belt, shared how he takes 1,000 mg of pure melatonin powder daily: 500 mg before bed, plus two 250 mg doses in the afternoon and evening.
At 64, he claims he’s sleeping deeper, feeling sharper, and bouncing with energy like he’s 30 again. That got our attention.
Digging deeper, we stumbled upon his inspiration: Doris Loh, a brilliant research scientist who’s cracking the code on melatonin’s hidden powers. Her studies, alongside those of melatonin guru Russell J. Reiter, show high doses doing incredible things in lab animals—like fighting cancer and Alzheimer’s—with zero side effects.
Suddenly, 1,000 mg didn’t sound so crazy. Before long, my dad was digesting Doris’ research posts and articles like crazy.
Doris Loh’s Take
Loh’s research is the real deal. She’s all about how high-dose melatonin tweaks something called phase separation. When you read her research, you’ll see that two-word phrase come up a lot.
“Phase separation” is a fancy term for a process that keeps your cells humming, from gene expression to immune defense.
Doris is even more hardcore than The Anti-Aging Channel. She casually scoops 2,000–3,000 mg from a jar whenever she feels like it. Her reasoning? It’s not just about sleep—it’s about turbocharging your mitochondria and protecting your body from the inside out.
Word to the wise: Doris is a researcher. Her stuff is complex and academic. To the average reader, it can be intimidating. Rather than force you to spend hours combing through the source, we’ve taken her findings and digested them so you can easily follow along.
What High-Dose Melatonin Actually Does
Melatonin’s the stuff your body makes when the lights go out, but there’s way more to it than the 3 mg pills at the drugstore.
Here’s what we’ve learned about cranking up the dose:
1. Supercharges Your Energy
Forget the sleepy-time stereotype. High-dose melatonin can rev up your mitochondria—the tiny engines in your cells that churn out ATP, your body’s energy fuel.
Loh says it’s like “rocket fuel” for her, and The Anti-Aging Channel swears he’s reclaimed his youthful pep.
If you’re dragging through the day, this might be why high doses are worth a look.
2. Shields Against Aging Nightmares
Loh and Reiter’s studies on animals are jaw-dropping. They found that high-dose melatonin slashed cancer and dementia risks with no downsides.
In humans, melatonin is a potent antioxidant, stronger than glutathione. It crosses the blood-brain barrier to detox heavy metals and calm inflammation. For anyone worried about staying sharp and healthy as the years pile on, this is huge.
3. Fixes Your Gut, Too
Here’s a surprise: your gut pumps out 400 times more melatonin than your pineal gland.
Taking high doses of melatonin can zap bad bacteria while boosting the good stuff, easing gut woes and cutting inflammation body-wide. It’s like a secret weapon for that bloated, blah feeling.
Busting the Melatonin Myths
We’ve heard all the warnings. “Melatonin’s dangerous”, “it’ll mess up your sleep”, “it’s only for bedtime”, etc. Turns out most of that’s bunk.
1. It Won’t Knock You Out
Think melatonin’s a sedative? Wrong. Actually, it’s NOT a sleeping pill—it just tells your body it’s time to chill when it’s dark.
The Anti-Aging Channel takes high doses of melatonin all day with no drowsiness, and Loh calls melatonin an energy booster.
You can dose melatonin anytime, as long as you dim the lights at night. Moonlight and red light are the only exception; they’re fine at night. That’s why the only nightlights we use are red LEDs.
2. It’s Safer Than You Think
Scared of overdosing? Don’t be. Even at crazy-high levels, melatonin is non-toxic.
Supplementing melatonin won’t interfere with or shut down your natural production of it—there’s no feedback loop to worry about.
The only catch? Check with your doc if you’re on medications, since it can play funny with some prescriptions.
3. Those “Side Effects” Aren’t So Bad
Groggy mornings can happen, but Loh says that’s often a signal your mitochondria need a bigger jolt. Bump the melatonin dose, and it might clear up.
Some people also report lucid dreams from high doses of melatonin. The Anti-Aging Channel calls them his nightly “movie marathons”—and he loves them! We say that’s a perk, not a problem.
Picking the Right Melatonin
With a million brands out there, finding a good one’s tricky.
Lucky for us, The Anti-Aging Channel lab-tested 19 different popular melatonin products. Here are some highlights from his findings:
1. Dodge the Junk Fillers
First rule: steer clear of croscarmellose sodium. It’s a filler in some tablets that can mess with your gut. We’re after clean, simple ingredients—no extra baggage.
2. The Best Bets
Here are 3 melatonin supplements that stood out from the lab tests:
- NOW Foods Capsules: Claimed 5 mg, delivered 6.1 mg—22% extra! Vegan-friendly, minimal fillers, and just $0.01 per mg. Solid gold.
- Natrol Timed Release: Said 5 mg, gave 7.25 mg—a 45% bonus. Great for slow release at just over $0.01 per mg.
- Nature’s Bounty: Promised 10 mg, delivered 11.4 mg. Gelatin capsules (not vegan), but clean and cheap at under $0.02 per mg.
The Anti-Aging Channel’s full rundown is a goldmine—19 brands, ranked by price per mg and purity.
High-Dose Melatonin in the Real World
Lab tests are cool, but what’s it like to actually use high-dose melatonin?
The Anti-Aging Channel provoked our curiosity and prompted us to do our own research on the best balance between budget and purity. We’ve been elbow deep in pure melatonin powder. We personally tested two such products: PureBulk and BulkSupplements.
Curious how it shakes out in daily life? Check out our hands-on take in Bulk Melatonin Powder Review: Beyond Sleep. Spoiler: taste and packaging matter more than you’d think.
How to Jump Into High-Dose Melatonin
Ready to give it a whirl? Here’s how we’d ease in without losing our minds:
1. Dose Slow, Scale Up
For a healthy 50-year-old, Doris Loh suggests dosing 180 mg a night. As you age, she suggests you add 100 mg every year.
The Anti-Aging Channel takes 1,000 mg a day, split across the day.
DISCLAIMER: We are not doctors or licensed medical practitioners. None of this is to be construed as medical advice. We only speak from our personal experience.
The overall effect is individual. We find it’ll largely depend on your age, level of chronic sleep deprivation, and your body.
For this reason, we tested the waters to find our best-fit dose, and we highly recommend you do the same.
We started from about 300-400 mg a day then tweaked it based on how we felt, starting with NOW Foods’ 20 mg capsules.
After a month of experimentation, each of us arrived at a daily dose of at least 1,500 mg a day under normal circumstances.
We take melatonin in ¼ tsp. doses of approximately 700mg each, one at daytime and one at evening, each together with ascorbic acid (vitamin C).
If we’re fighting a virus, we double down on our melatonin consumption. In some cases, my dad has taken as much as 6-8 g in a day while fighting a bad cold.
This is in line with Doris Loh’s melatonin and ascorbic acid protocol. While it’s designed for COVID-19, we also find it useful against more ordinary bugs, like the common cold.
Even at these multiplied “battle doses”, we still take melatonin twice a day and at the same time every day. We also raise our Vitamin C doses like we’ve been doing for a decade and a half. This combo works wonders.
2. Timing’s Everything
Split your doses like The Anti-Aging Channel: afternoon, evening, bedtime.
For sleep, keep it dark and do it at night. Light kills melatonin’s magic (except red light or moonlight). Play with timing to match your rhythm.
3. Listen to Your Body
Feel foggy? You might need more, not less. Mitochondria are weird like that.
Loving the wild dreams? Lean into it. Track how you feel, and adjust. It’s your journey.
Wrapping It Up: The Case for High-Dose Melatonin
High-dose melatonin’s turned our heads—and maybe yours, too. It’s not just a sleep trick; it’s a shot at more energy, a tougher body, and a sharper mind.
Thanks to Doris Loh’s brainy breakthroughs and The Anti-Aging Channel’s bold trials, we’ve got a roadmap to something pretty darn cool.
Pick a clean product—skip the croscarmellose sodium junk—and start where you’re comfy. Want more? Our Bulk Melatonin Powder Review spills the beans on what we’ve tried ourselves. Always, always chat with your doc before going big, but don’t sleep on this (pun intended).
So, what’s your take? Tried high doses? Sticking to the small stuff? Drop your thoughts below—we’re all ears.