Melatonin for frequent night waking when I fall asleep easily?

[neverReallyasleep]

Ive never slept well. Extremely light sleeper. Waking every hour or so and always exhausted. The slightest noise or smell or anything really will also wake me. I feel like I never get into a deep sleep cycle.

I spoke to the GP who said that as I fall asleep ok there’s nothing wrong and no need to try medications . I feel like melatonin might help ? But he said it’s only for getting to sleep not staying asleep? Is it worth a try anyway?

Magnesium helped me a lot.

Ps 5-htp is legally available in UK.

"Always exhausted" an "up early and make sure I get out and I walk a lot and exercise." can't both be true.

Are you doing the other good sleep hygiene things:
no caffeine after noon (or maybe none at all): that means no chocolate, too
no or very rare booze
stop looking at all screens an hour before bed: that includes tv, phone, laptop: not allowed to be switched on in your bedroom (is the formal advice)
comfy bed & temp in your bedroom
No sleep partner (no bed sharing)
Stay out of your bedroom until you are quite tired (probably)
Keep lights out, noise levels that don't bother you
Are you getting any aerobic exercise?

If you fall back to sleep quickly then you're not fretting which is great.

surely you can have slow release melatonin

Those things help many, perhaps most people. But without meaning to sound defeatist, for a small proportion of us they don't make a lot of difference because we're hardwired differently. And tbh I have absolutely experienced being up early and active and simultaneously exhausted. Early mornings and activity don't always solve insomnia, unfortunately.

Yes it’s available