I don't have much problems falling asleep but I feel I slept much better if I took a benzo so I occasionally (rarely, humble doses) do whenever I want to really recharge myself with what feels like a great night of good deep uninterrupted sleep. In contrast to zolpidem (I tried it wehen I actually used to have problems falling asleep): zolpidem helps to fall asleep but promotes vivid (and visually beautiful) vigourous dreams and harms resting so I feel satisfied but very tired in the morning (like if lived through the Avatar movie instead of sleeping). Such is my experience. What am I missing?
Melatonin supplementation seems a questionable idea except for adjusting your circadian "inner clock" - according to this article:
Perhaps sleep quality doesn't always directly relate to how rested you feel afterwards? I've been having a very varied amount of sleep for the last few months due to a newborn baby. It can definitely happen that a good 5-6 hour stretch (the max I get these days) leads to me feeling more tired. Sometimes running on fumes actually feels easier and more wakeful.