Awaiting clinical review. This entry is sourced but has not yet been signed off by a pharmacist or clinician.

Hormone, usually made synthetically

Melatonin

Melatonin works modestly for falling asleep and reasonably well for jet lag after crossing several time zones, and short-term use appears safe for most adults. The effect on ordinary insomnia is small (about 7 minutes faster to fall asleep in one meta-analysis) and NCCIH says the evidence is not strong enough to recommend it for chronic insomnia. Long-term safety has not been established, and children can be harmed by accidental overdoses.

Written by

Healthy and Herbal editorial team

Updated

29 September 2026

At a glance

Last reviewed 29 September 2026

Evidence

Moderate

Best for

Jet lag

Typical form & use

Oral tablet or capsule, 0.5–5 mg

Onset

Same night

Safety

Long-term safety unknown; overdose risk in children. 1 known interaction, most serious with blood thinners.

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What it's used for

Evidence is rated per use. The same ingredient can be strong for one thing and traditional for another.

Use	Evidence	What the research shows
Jet lag	Moderate	A Cochrane review of ten placebo-controlled trials found nine showed less jet lag from flights crossing five or more time zones when melatonin was taken near the destination bedtime, with an NNT of 2. The review is from 2002 and the trials were small, so it is rated 3 rather than 4; NCCIH describes the evidence as 'may be better than placebo'.^1,7
Falling asleep (adults)	Moderate	A meta-analysis of 19 placebo-controlled trials (1,683 people with primary sleep disorders) found sleep latency shortened by about 7 minutes and total sleep time lengthened by about 8 minutes, with a small improvement in sleep quality. Another review found benefit in adults with delayed sleep phase disorder, but NCCIH says the evidence for chronic insomnia is not strong enough.^2,3,7
Sleep in children with neurodevelopmental conditions	Moderate	A meta-analysis of 13 randomised trials (682 children with conditions such as autism or ADHD) found about 48 minutes more sleep and about 29 minutes faster sleep onset, with no change in night waking. The authors rated the overall evidence quality as limited because trials varied a lot.^6,3
Shift work sleep	Limited	The Cochrane review of shift-work drugs found melatonin (1–10 mg) may add about 24 minutes of daytime sleep after a night shift, but the evidence was low quality and sleep latency was no different from placebo. NCCIH calls the results generally small or inconclusive.^5,7

How much

Ranges below are what studies used and what supplements commonly contain. They are not a recommendation for you. Start at the low end.

Studied range (jet lag)

0.5–5 mg daily¹

In the Cochrane review, 0.5–5 mg were similarly effective, though people fell asleep faster and slept better on 5 mg than 0.5 mg. Doses above 5 mg were no more effective.

Studied range (shift work)

1–10 mg⁵

Doses in the shift-work trials; the review found too little data to link dose to benefit.

Timing (jet lag)

10 pm to midnight at destination¹

Taken at the wrong time, early in the day, melatonin can cause sleepiness and delay adaptation to local time.

Timing · For jet lag, trials gave it close to the target bedtime at the destination (10 pm to midnight). Timing matters more than dose: an early-day dose can delay adjustment.With food? · Not established in the sources reviewed.How long to trial · Jet-lag benefit is judged over the first few days after arrival. For sleep problems, effects on falling asleep were modest in the trials, so judge over about a week and stop if there is no clear gain.

How people take it

Immediate-release tablet or capsule0.5–5 mgThe form used in most trials; the Cochrane review suggests a short-lived higher peak works better than slow release.

Slow-release tablet2 mg (studied)2 mg slow-release melatonin was relatively ineffective for jet lag in the Cochrane review.

GummyVariesA 2023 analysis found 22 of 25 gummies were inaccurately labelled, with 74–347% of the stated melatonin.

Safety

Who should avoid

Pregnancy and breastfeeding — safety research is lacking
Children — only with clinician advice; keep all products locked away
Epilepsy — ask a clinician first
Dementia — NCCIH does not recommend it
Anyone taking warfarin or other blood thinners — ask first

Known interactions

CautionBlood thinners — Case reports suggested people taking warfarin may come to harm, and NCCIH advises medical supervision for people on blood thinners.

Compare with

Head-to-head pages for the pairs people search most.

Melatonin vs Valerian

Questions people ask

Is a low dose of melatonin as good as a high dose?

The evidence is mixed. The Cochrane jet-lag review found 0.5–5 mg similarly effective, with 5 mg slightly better for falling asleep and no benefit above 5 mg. A meta-analysis of primary sleep disorders found higher doses gave somewhat larger effects, while a review in healthy people found 0.3–1 mg worked better than 2–5 mg, so 'more is not better' is not settled either way.

Does melatonin help you stay asleep?

Mostly it helps with falling asleep and shifting your body clock. In the children's meta-analysis there was no change in night waking, and in the shift-work review other sleep quality measures did not improve.

Is melatonin safe for children?

NCCIH says short-term use at normal doses appears safe for most children, but long-term effects are unknown and there are few studies. CDC reported about 10,900 emergency department visits in 2019–2022 for unsupervised melatonin ingestion by children aged 5 and under, so store it out of reach.

Is the dose on the label reliable?

Not always. NCCIH reports that a 2023 study of gummies found 22 of 25 were inaccurately labelled, ranging from 74% to 347% of the stated amount.

Sources

Last reviewed 29 September 2026 · Next review March 2027 · How we rate evidence