Note: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not approve supplements for safety or effectiveness. Talk to a healthcare professional about whether a supplement is the right fit for your individual health, and about any potential drug interactions or safety concerns.
Melatonin is a hormone produced in the brain that regulates the body’s sleep-wake cycle, and its popularity as a sleep-boosting supplement has grown dramatically in recent years. One survey found that more than a quarter of U.S. adults take melatonin to help them sleep. These over-the-counter formulations are made with synthetic forms of melatonin, and they come in tablet, capsule, liquid, and gummy form.
“It’s great that people are focusing on their sleep, and melatonin may help,” says Michael Grandner, PhD, the director of the sleep and health research program at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson. “But it’s often not used correctly,” he adds.
Melatonin has fewer potential side effects than many prescription sleep aids, and supplements are generally considered safe when taken properly. Your sleep may improve if you avoid these seven common mistakes.
6 Melatonin Mistakes to Avoid
6 common mistakes people make when using melatonin.
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1. You Don’t Practice Other Good Sleep Hygiene Strategies
Melatonin is one effective option in the sleep toolbox, but it shouldn’t be the only one you try, and it also shouldn’t be the first step you take if you’re not sleeping well, says David Neubauer, MD, an associate professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.
The primary effective sleep hygiene strategies don't involve over-the-counter supplements:
Go to sleep and wake up at the same time, seven days a week.
Make your sleeping space dark and quiet.
Keep the bedroom temperature between 60 and 67 degrees.
Stop eating two or three hours before bedtime.
Create a relaxing bedtime routine, with peaceful music, a book, or a warm bath.
2. You Think Melatonin Makes You Sleepy
Dr. Grandner says this is the most common misconception about melatonin. Unlike many prescription sleeping pills, melatonin isn’t a sedative. It works by signaling to your body that it’s nighttime and encouraging your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle to help you power down for the night.
If you're using it to knock yourself out every night, it won’t. It will help shift your sleep patterns if you’re struggling with things like jet lag or an irregular sleep schedule because of shift work, but it isn’t very effective for insomnia caused by other issues.
3. You Take Melatonin Just Before Bedtime
Since melatonin probably won’t help you drift off the minute your head hits the pillow, you shouldn’t time your dosage as if it will. Melatonin is more effective when taken an hour or two before bed.
“It tells your body it’s nighttime,” Grandner says. But it takes a little bit of time for your body to power down, the same way it does when you naturally start to feel sleepy before bed. If you take it right before you turn in, the effect will start too late.
4. You Use Melatonin in the Middle of the Night
If your insomnia means you routinely wake up at 3 a.m, popping a melatonin supplement won’t help you drift back off to sleep. It may be tempting to try it, but this timing is ineffective, because our naturally occurring melatonin hormone levels are at peak levels already, says Naima Covassin, PhD, a sleep researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
A better, long-term strategy to fall back asleep is to preserve your bedroom’s function as a sleep sanctuary. Don’t use it as a home office, and keep all the other glowing electronic devices in another room, too. If you don’t fall back asleep within 20 minutes, get out of bed and do something you find relaxing until you feel drowsy again.
5. You Take Melatonin Every Night
The safety and effectiveness of long-term use of melatonin supplements needs further review. Dr. Covassin says melatonin should be used only for temporary trouble falling asleep unless it’s prescribed by a physician.
Long-term use typically isn’t recommended, and it may increase the risk of side effects, such as headache, dizziness, nausea, and daytime drowsiness, without solving the underlying cause of your sleep issues.
Other approaches, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, might be better for people with persistent sleep problems, says Covassin. (This is why cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia is the gold-standard, first-line recommended treatment for insomnia. Rarely, more serious side effects can happen, including depression, high blood pressure, and seizures in people who are prone to them.
6. The Dosage Is Too High
There is such a thing as too much melatonin. Experts recommend that users take no more than 10 milligrams (mg) of melatonin at a time, and a typical dose ranges from 1 mg to 3 mg.
“More is not necessarily better,” Covassin says.
As with long-term daily use, high doses may increase the risk of side effects. If you don’t see results with lower doses, talk to a healthcare provider to get to the root of your sleep problems and devise a more effective treatment plan.
7. You Leave It Out in Plain Sight
Even if a bottle of pills isn’t a prescription, it shouldn’t be left out where anyone can grab it. Gummy forms of this supplement, especially, are tempting for kids. People don’t always keep dietary supplements out of reach of children — and that’s a dangerous mistake.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the number of children who have ingested melatonin has dramatically increased in recent years, along with hospitalizations and more serious outcomes. To make your home safe, keep all medicines and supplements in a spot that’s too high for your children to see and reach. And if your melatonin comes in a childproof container, keep it stored that way.
The Takeaway
Melatonin supplements are a synthetic version of the drowsy hormone that’s naturally produced in the brain. Melatonin can help improve the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle, but it’s only effective if used properly.
Common melatonin mistakes include taking them at the wrong time or at the wrong dose. These supplements should also not be relied on as a long-term fix for chronic sleeping problems.
Melatonin use has become more popular in recent years, and there’s been an increase in the number of children who have accidentally ingested it. Don’t leave melatonin, or any other kind of medicine or supplement, within reach of young children.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
How Much Melatonin Do We Really Take? Sleep Foundation. October 20, 2022.
Chester Wu, MD, is double board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine. He cares for patients through his private practice in Houston, where he provides evaluations, medication management, and therapy for psychiatric and sleep medicine conditions.
After training at the Baylor College of Medicine and Stanford University School of Medicine, Dr. Wu established the first sleep medicine program within a psychiatric system in the United States while at the Menninger Clinic in Houston.
Lisa Rapaport is a journalist with more than 20 years of experience on the health beat as a writer and editor. She holds a master’s degree from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and spent a year as a Knight-Wallace journalism fellow at the University of Michigan. Her work has appeared in dozens of local and national media outlets, including Reuters, Bloomberg, WNYC, The Washington Post,Los Angeles Times, Scientific American, San Jose Mercury News, Oakland Tribune, Huffington Post, Yahoo! News, The Sacramento Bee, and The Buffalo News.
