I recently changed my sleep cycle by a few hours. I bought a Zeo and started turning off the computer an hour before going to sleep. During that time I'd read, do some stretches, brush my teeth, meditate, take 3mg of melatonin, then go to sleep. When I wake up, I go out for a 20+ min run or go to the gym, then eat breakfast. I used to wake up anywhere from 10-12. Today I woke up at 6 and my alarm only needed to go off once. It's a Sunday, I had no reason to wake up so early but I'm doing it every morning now. My goal is to wake up at 5 every morning without the use of an alarm clock and without the melatonin. As far as I know I'm not suffering any negatives from the melatonin, though.
My sleep habits were just as bad as this guy described, but about a year ago I started taking melatonin on week nights. I didn't alter anything else, and the melatonin has solved my sleep issues. I do have vivid dreams virtually every night, which I generally remember (last night I dreamt I drove to my childhood piano teacher's house and had her give me her old records so I could resume learning the piano where I left off a decade ago). None of the dreams have been nightmares; some have been what I would call "disturbing," although I expect them now and actually find them rather interesting.
Seconded! Melatonin has been a life-saver for me. Been suffering from DSPS long before I knew what it was. I had tried just about everything mentioned and had finally accepted that I couldn't work a normal-work-hours job. So I resorted to working remotely and outsourcing a lot of my work.
I discovered melatonin after finally coming across the DSPS wikipedia article and realizing that it was describing me exactly. I initially started off with 3mg of melatonin about an hour before bedtime and that was waaay too much for me. I ended up sleeping most of the next day. After some trial and error I found that 1mg works perfect for me.
Now that I've been on a more 'normal' schedule for several months, I take it for granted. But when I first discovered that I wouldn't have to be a severe night owl for the rest of my life - it was a joyous revelation.
The hardest thing about DSPS for me was the loneliness at night. I could not go to sleep naturally until 4am at the earliest usually - and that left many hours when most things were closed and most friends were asleep. I feel much healthier now especially due to my improved social life with my new schedule.
While there were some benefits to DSPS - like beautiful 3am runs around San Francisco when everything's asleep and some great 'flow' time for programming, ultimately solving this problem has been a huge improvement in my life.
The negatives from melatonin would be short term memory loss and wild, crazy dreams. I think the point of changing the light cycles is to use the melatonin that your brain naturally produces. Generally melatonin is prescribed for seniors when they stop naturally producing it.
I haven't noticed either of these side effects. I don't take melatonin every night, but I do use it to adjust my sleep schedule (for which I find it highly effective)
I also used it to adjust my sleep cycle, but I did not use it regularly. I was under the impression that resetting the circadian rhythm resulted in negative side effects such as memory loss. I know it's an effective treatment for alzheimer's, however those are in cases when an individuals melatonin production has stopped. As a younger person myself, I did not want to use it regularly and have a completely artificial circadian rhythm. When I did so it resulted in a few blanks here and there in my short term memory.
Compared to other sleep-aids I've tried, melatonin is much, much better. I took Ambien for a while (both 5mg and 10mg), and while the onset is much, much faster than melatonin (15 minutes vs. 1 hour), I grew a tolerance to it rather quickly. Eventually, it just wouldn't put me to sleep. Instead, I experienced wild hallucinations, amnesia, and hangovers. Wild and crazy dreams are nothing, really, compared to actually hallucinating.
My younger brother had a similar experience with Ambien. He would take it, not fall asleep, and then get really weird (the only word to describe it). One time he started listening to dance music after taking an Ambien to try to fall asleep, and whatever he experienced, his roommates said he was jumping and screaming at the top of his lungs. And then there were the online posts with capitalization and spelling that looked like they'd been boiled in radioactive green goo...
I've had a number of really weird experiences with Ambien. I know, from some things I've said to other people while on it, that there are a number of things that I experienced of which I have no recollection. The things I do remember are fairly crazy in their own right. I'm not sure if this is the place to discuss this, but I'll mention a few things that I've experienced. At the very least, this should serve as a warning to anyone considering taking Ambien.
I was once convinced I was on the set of the Goonies, because my comforter happened to look like a cave. I've only seen bits and pieces of that movie, so I have no idea why I hallucinated about it. I told someone "this lady needs to sell some chickens" because I saw a woman in the middle of my room selling chickens. I saw pixies dancing in the middle of my room. I saw a little girl, about the height of the toilet, that was sucked behind it as I approached. I also called or texted a number of people and told them a bunch of things that made absolutely no sense. Things like "I don't trust you. You might read my books." Or telling them I was flying and how much I loved them. I have a subtle recollection of the latter, absolutely none of the former. I never had a "bad trip", in that I never experienced anything that made me fearful or feel bad. It was all very euphoric, but, from my understanding, this isn't true for everyone.
If you're into the whole recreational drug thing, I can't say that Ambien is a bad choice as a hallucinogen. The hangovers were mild, and only came about from large doses (~30mg). I never took it for that purpose, but I realize there are people (not necessarily here) that might be interested. As far as using it as a sleep aid, I wouldn't suggest anyone go near the stuff. It's great the first few times you take it, but the tolerance sets on rather quickly. I ended up just hallucinating until the time I would normally fall asleep. I never became dependent, but it seems that addiction isn't necessarily uncommon for those that take it for long periods of time. If you are having trouble sleeping, try melatonin supplements and light therapy. Melatonin doesn't work for everyone, but, honestly, I'd rather have a few nights where I'm unable to sleep than the hangovers and hallucinations I got from Ambien.
TL;DR: Ambien makes for a really shitty sleep-aid.
Interestingly enough, I tried melatonin a few months ago when I was having problems with insomnia. After 2 or 3 nights with it, my sleep cycle corrected itself and I haven't taken it since. I don't know that I'd want to keep taking it every night, but as a temporary measure to your sleep cycle back on track it's great.
I find having a significant other helps a lot as well; I'm more likely to go to bed on time because I don't want to disturb them by turning in late.
Melatonin (3 mg/night) has been nothing but good to me. Haven't noticed any negative side effects, and when I don't take it I seem to be back to my pre-melatonin days, not worse.
Here's my review of the Zeo: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1358589