The Melatonin Recovery Mystery: Better Recovery, Same Sleep | 352

In this episode we discuss a small placebo-controlled crossover study on melatonin and caffeine in trained young men, looking at sprint performance, sleep, and recovery markers. We go over the main findings, including improved performance with caffeine and better recovery measures with melatonin, while noting that the study did not show better sleep.
We also cover the study's limitations, including the small sample size and the high supplement doses used, and explain why we generally prefer lower melatonin doses and focus on sleep habits first. Later, we talk about a long-term training goal combining heavy lifts and a sub-25-minute 5K, and finish with an update on training tracking and wearables.

Chapters 0:00 - Melatonin and Caffeine Talk 2:00 - Study Findings 4:55 - Melatonin and Recovery 8:26 - Sleep, Dose, and Cycling 10:56 - Circadian Rhythm Basics 13:35 - Short-Term Use Only 20:16 - Dave's Big Strength Goal 22:16 - Current Progress Update 25:58 - Game Day Strategy 28:50 - Dropping the Wearable 32:06 - Next Challenge Ahead