Melatonin

Status

Dietary supplement (US). Not an FDA-approved drug in the United States, where it is sold as a dietary supplement. Prescription melatonin products are approved in other countries — for example Circadin prolonged-release tablets in the EU and UK — and those labels describe their own product, not US supplements.

What it is

A hormone that signals darkness to the body clock, sold widely as a supplement.

What published research measured

Evidence varies by sleep condition. Melatonin may help with jet lag and delayed sleep-wake phase disorder; that does not make it a general treatment for every sleep complaint. In Sletten and colleagues' 2018 trial, melatonin combined with behavioural sleep-wake scheduling improved sleep onset compared with placebo in a selected delayed-phase population; long-term benefit and safety were not assessed.

Source

Valko M et al. 2005 — Metals, toxicity and oxidative stress · Ancoli-Israel S et al. 2003 — The role of actigraphy in the study of sleep and circadian rhythms

Sources

No linked primary source is on file for this entry yet.

Educational use only, never medical advice. No doses.