Is it safe to take melatonin every night?

What is melatonin?

Melatonin is a hormone produced from a pea-sized gland at the top of the brain that helps your body know when to sleep and wake up. Your body produces more melatonin at night, as it gets darker, and levels drop to their lowest in the morning as the sun rises. You can also buy natural (made from animals) and synthetic melatonin in the form of gummies, drinks, and capsules, which cause drowsiness.

When taken correctly – sometimes, two hours before bed – melatonin supplements can help you fall asleep. But a study published in Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in February 2022 stated that the “evidence supporting the use of melatonin for sleep disorders is weak.” That doesn’t mean you have to stop everything, but it may help to adjust your expectations of what melatonin can do.

What exactly is in your melatonin supplement?

Because melatonin is considered a dietary supplement, not a drug, it is not strictly regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, and therefore purity and ingredients vary. “The lack of detailed testing and regulation of supplements by the FDA is a widespread problem,” said Dr. Ana Krieger, medical director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian. the JAMA the study found that the actual content of many melatonin products up to 478% higher than what is on the label. A typical dose of melatonin is around 0.1 to 10 milligramswhich is already higher than what your body produces—between 10 to 80 micrograms per night.

Although it is rare to overdose on melatonin, taking too much can cause headaches, vomiting, and even changes in blood pressure. In addition, “not everyone tolerates melatonin, because it can lead to daytime fatigue, depressed mood, and residual drowsiness the next day—especially when doses are higher than 3 milligrams,” says Krieger.

In addition, some supplements may contain other problematic ingredients. A 2017 study that tested 31 melatonin supplements sold in grocery stores and pharmacies found that 26% contained it. serotoninanother hormone that can cause harmful effects even at low doses.

In other parts of the world, such as the UK and most of Europe, melatonin is considered a drug and requires a prescription.

To ensure the safety of your supplement, Krieger suggests choosing only those certified by NSF International (formerly the National Sanitation Foundation), a third-party agency that certifies the purity of ingredients in supplements.

Is it safe to take every night?

While melatonin is considered safe for short-term use, such as occasional insomnia or getting over jet lag, many people take melatonin every night. That’s about it when you consider that your nightly dose may be several times higher than what you intended or what the label promises. Experts caution that little is known about the effects of long-term melatonin use. If you often have trouble sleeping, talk to your doctor for advice — they may suggest other options, such as magnesium and l-theanine, says Krieger. “Like other sleep medications, long-term use of supplements should be guided by a specialist,” he said.

Solve your sleep problems

A common melatonin misstep is taking the supplement without addressing other sleep issues. “Relying on melatonin supplements that don’t optimize your nighttime habits is usually not the best approach,” says Krieger.

The best use of supplements is to enhance the benefits of a good nighttime routine, he says. That means making sure your bedroom is dark (which encourages melatonin production), quiet, and cool. You should also go to bed and wake up at the same time, reduce exposure to bright light before bed, which inhibits the release of melatonin, and “[learn] how to reduce stressors and underlying anxieties that can affect sleep.”