Another Tool in My Toolbox

I haven't been able to write this as soon as I wanted to, but I have been feeling better. I haven't been trying to do too much, but I have been focusing on some modest changes to what I'm doing. I've already mentioned my renewed focus on faith. Here is another little change I've made.

Something that has worked well for me to this point are three supplements. They are fish oil, St. John's wort and melatonin. My experience thus far is anything but definitive. It is not based on any serious amount of study or research. It also hasn't been long at all. It is also highly subjective and anecdotal.

In my cursory reading on websites I have seen the suggestion that fish oil could help with depression. This makes a lot of sense to me. Essential fatty acids are something most of us could do better in consuming. I have seen several suggestions over time that it is good for many brain related conditions and general brain function at a minimum. I will admit that I have not looked at journals outlining if it is helpful, but it makes sense to me with my understanding of physiology. It is also something we already had in the house, so it is a cheap treatment to try.

St. John's wort is something that I have also heard of being helpful for mild depression. Most of that was from its hey day when I worked for a company that manufactured the supplements. I haven't kept up with this supplement, and I haven't read the research even back in the day. Even if I had read it when I worked there, the supplement has been popular long enough to have been studied quite a bit more than what then existed. This is another item we happened to have in the house, so it is another cheap treatment to try.

Melatonin is something we have used quite a bit over the last few years, and we are familiar with its sleep inducing properties. This is exactly why I am using it. I read that getting enough sleep is something that can be done as part of a treatment strategy. I have a hard time getting to sleep, so this one is partly a mental exercise as much as a nutritional/supplement strategy. I have made it a bit more of a priority to get to sleep at a time that gives me a good night's sleep. Taking melatonin a half hour before bed time is a big part of this. Again, we already have this, so it is cheap to try.

I can't say whether any one particular supplement is doing it, all three, or some combination are doing it, but I have been in a better overall mood this past week. If I had to say it was just one, it would have to be the melatonin. Getting more and regular sleep is nice. I have less time awake, but I didn't really do anything with that extra time, so I'm still coming out ahead. When the current bottles of the fish oil and St. John's wort run out, I don't know if I will get new ones at this point. I may just go without to see if I can feel a difference.