Melatonin is a hormone produced naturally by a gland in your brain. This hormone helps regulate your body's circadian rhythm or sleep cycle.
Our brains make melatonin on our own. Our bodies normally start to release melatonin about one to three hours before bedtime.
Melatonin supplements give your body extra melatonin that can help some people fall asleep. Most melatonin supplements are synthetically derived, meaning they're made in a lab.
Melatonin supplements give your body more of the hormone that helps regulate your sleep. For some people, melatonin supplements have a hypnotic effect and help get them to sleep. It can increase your quality of sleep, how quickly you fall asleep and how long you sleep.
It can help people who have insomnia (trouble falling asleep or staying asleep) and other sleep-related conditions.
Melatonin supplements should never take the place of good sleep practices. Most physicians recommend committing to these practices before turning to melatonin.
Good sleep practices include:
Short-term use of melatonin supplements appears to be safe for most people. This means one to two months. After that, you should stop using it and see how you're sleeping. However, long-term use of taking melatonin has not been studied much, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The most common side effects of melatonin supplements are drowsiness and headaches. Many people experience vivid dreams and nightmares while taking melatonin.
At higher doses, some people have other side effects including:
Overall, at low doses, when given appropriately for the shortest amount of time, melatonin is typically safe and well tolerated.
Adults and children should start with a smaller dose. Gradually increase the dosage if you're not seeing benefits.
It's recommended to start children at .25 milligrams (mg) or .5 mg and then increase by .5 mg in a week if they're seeing no effects. Children under 2 years old should not be given melatonin. Adults can start with 1 mg and then increase by 1 mg each week if you're still having trouble falling asleep.
For children weighing less than 88 pounds, providers recommend 3 mg max per dose. Children and teens weighing more than 88 pounds can take up to 5 mg at once. Adults should not take more than 10 mg at a time.
Small doses can be effective. It's not the case that the more melatonin you take, the more effective it will be, or the sleepier you will be. Too high of a dose can be dangerous and associated with increased side effects.
Evidence shows that depending on the purpose, you want to take melatonin at slightly different times each night. If you're looking for the hypnotic or sedating effect (such as a long flight), you can take it 30-45 mins. before the desired sleep time.
To help with getting to sleep at night, take melatonin three to four hours before the desired sleep time. For example, if you want to be asleep at 11 p.m., take melatonin between 7-8 p.m. This can be adjusted earlier if your goal is to start falling asleep by 10 p.m., for example.
