Melatonin Is A Scam
“We will come to learn that sleep is the universal health care provider: whatever the physical or mental ailment, sleep has a prescription it can dispense.”
Key Takeaways
Melatonin, the “sleep” hormone:
Is safe for the majority of the population
Is often mislabeled and dosage varies wildly
May improve sleep quality, but likely only in older adults and insomniacs
May decrease time to fall asleep in young adults but doesn’t significantly affect other sleep parameters
May acutely increase GH, but not to a degree that actually matters
Full Story
Don’t believe everything you hear.
Melatonin, the “hormone of darkness” is the most popular sleep supplement in the world. It’s touted for its ability to induce sleep, improve sleep quality, and help you wake up refreshed and ready to take on the world each morning. The Melatonin market is even expected to generate $1.5 billion worldwide in 2021 (1).
It must work, right?
…right?
What is Melatonin?
Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland that prepares your body for sleep. You may know it better as the “sleep supplement” that millions of Americans take to induce their slumber each night. While melatonin’s “natural effects” appear to be an attractive alternative to the laundry list of side effects of prescription sleeping pills, the strength of evidence supporting its effects is questionable (2).
Don’t get me wrong. In certain populations, melatonin is a safe and effective treatment. However, for most people melatonin supplementation - despite being branded as an innocuous sleep aid - is an unnecessary, unregulated health risk.
Here, I’m going to determine if popular beliefs about melatonin are “fact” or “fiction” and provide practical recommendations for supplementation.
1. Melatonin dosage is regulated by the FDA and you can trust labels on your bottle.
Over the counter melatonin supplements are not regulated by the FDA and may contain wildly different dosages than advertised. This study from 2017 found that the amount of melatonin contained in any given product was between 83% less to 478% more than stated on the bottle, with the melatonin content of the same product varying by 465%! (3). Additionally, 70% of the melatonin tested had less than 10% of the claimed melatonin content.
These astronomical stats say it all; you have no idea how much melatonin you’re getting in any supplement. If you choose to supplement, it makes sense to purchase melatonin from highly rated to combat this egregious mislabeling.
The Verdict - Fiction
2. Melatonin increases sleep quality in insomniacs and older adults.
Melatonin’s supposed ability to improve sleep is its money maker - but what does this actually mean? For the purpose of this article, we’ll define “improving sleep” as decreasing sleep latency, or time it takes to fall asleep, and increasing sleep quality and quantity.
In general, melatonin supplementation has been studied extensively in those with chronic sleep disorders and in older adults with naturally diminished melatonin production. In these populations, melatonin has been shown to improve all three of the primary sleep parameters (4, 5, 6).
The Verdict - Fact
3. Melatonin increases sleep quality in healthy, young people.
On the other hand, there is a paucity of data on melatonin use in those without insomnia and in young, healthy adults. The effect of melatonin supplementation on these populations is underwhelming.
Multiple studies in young adults have found that melatonin supplementation decreases sleep latency and thereby promotes increased sleep quantity (7, 8, 9), yet has little or no effect on sleep quality (10, 11).
Interestingly enough, melatonin has been shown to improve all parameters of sleep in healthy adults sleeping in hospital-like conditions and in those that have completed a late night workout near bedtime. If you’re only able to workout late at night, you may benefit from taking melatonin to wind down before sleep (12, 13).
Unless you’re traveling, have insomnia, or are in other niche circumstances, the limited research supports that melatonin supplementation will not noticeably improve sleep quality.
Verdict - Fiction
Side Note- Is Melatonin Nature’s Condom?
Due to Melatonin’s effect on the pituitary-gonadal reproductive axis, extremely high doses have been investigated as a possible form of birth control! (14). On the other hand, supplementing with melatonin may reduce the effectiveness of prescription birth control, so be sure to check with your doctor before mixing the two.
4. Melatonin reduces jet lag.
Our cavemen ancestors were not able to fly through the air at blistering speeds into different time zones. There is no setting in our circadian biology for adapting to jet lag and it can be a shock to the system.
Luckily, melatonin use has been consistently proven to improve symptoms of jet lag, including decreasing time to fall asleep and reducing fatigue and irritability (15, 16, 17) The next time you cross over into a new time zone on vacation or business, taking .05mg to 5mg of melatonin will help you better adjust your inner clock and sleep better.
The Verdict - Fact
5. Melatonin is safe for both short and long term use.
Melatonin, in doses between 3 mcg and 5 mg, is safe for short term use up to 6 months (18). Due to the lack of long-term human trials, the safety of chronic use has not been widely studied.
Because Melatonin is naturally occurring in the body and current studies have not shown any severe side effects nor much possibility for addiction or dependence, extended use appears to be safe (especially if the dose is 3mg or less) (19).
The Verdict - Fact, for short term, and “Maybe” for long term
Side Note #2 - Light On Your Big Toe
Exposure to bright lights at night decreases the amount of melatonin produced by your body. If you’re thinking, “John, don’t worry, I’ll just close my eyes!” -not so fast. Just the presence of light on closed eyelids significantly suppresses melatonin production and decreases the quality of your sleep (20).”
To optimize your sleep quality, make sure your bedroom is completely dark. And if your roommates party all night long and the light bleeds into your room, wearing an eye mask is an effective solution.
6. Melatonin boosts growth hormone enough to increase muscle growth.
A safe pill that will help me sleep more and make me jacked? Sign me up! In fact, if you enter a quick how to increase growth hormone? into the google machine, many headlines and questionable websites will “prove” that it must be true (21).
If something sounds too good to be true, it is. Unfortunately, melatonin has also been shown to decrease growth hormone levels. Does this mean it will kill all your gains? Also no. (22, 23).
You see, melatonin and growth hormone are both “pulsatile hormones”, which means they go up and down in waves throughout the day (24). So, in order for a fluctuation in growth hormone to actually matter physiologically (i.e. in order for it to go up or down enough to make us jacked or kill our gains), we would need to see spikes or falls over a 24-hour time period. The change in GH levels from melatonin last only a few hours, and these transient changes do not have any appreciable effect on body composition or lean tissue growth.
The Verdict - Fiction
Mind Your Sleep Hygiene
If you’re considering supplementing with melatonin, it would behoove you to first ensure that you optimize your sleep hygiene by:
Limiting caffeine and avoid it altogether after 12pm*
Limiting afternoon naps
Sticking to a regular sleep and wake schedule
Avoiding heavy meals, spicy foods, and alcohol 2-3 hours before bedtime
Sleeping in a cool (60-67 degrees F), dark room
Avoiding exposure to bright lights/blue light such as that emitted by cell phone and laptops) 1-2 hours before bed**
Exposing yourself to sunlight in the morning
Exercising regularly
*Caffeine has a half-life of 5-6 hours – this means that if you have a cup of Starbucks coffee with 200mg of caffeine at 12pm, there will still be 100 mg in your system at 6pm and 50mg in your system at midnight. Caffeine can significantly decrease the quality of your sleep, for obvious reasons.
**Or wear blue light blocking glasses and/or download blue light decreasing apps on your devices. Flux is a great option for laptops and switch to “night mode” on your Iphone (25).
Wrap Up
Quality Sleep is an essential component of recovery and wellness. Melatonin will not work miracles, especially if your circadian rhythm is in sync and you are free of sleep disorders.
If you’re young, don’t suffer from insomnia, and still take it every night to improve your sleep quality, you are being scammed. However, it can be beneficial for older adults, those with sleep disorders, and in certain circumstances such as sleeping in hospital rooms or if working out right before bed.
Don’t take it if you don’t need it, but melatonin is a safe and effective supplement that can help you get your sleep schedule back on track.
Sources:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/967361/total-melatonin-supplements-market-size-globally/
https://www.aarp.org/health/dementia/info-2019/dementia-sleep-medication.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5263069/
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0063773%20
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21120122/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8956204/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15532202/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3509066/
https://ccforum.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13054-015-0842-8
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07420528.2018.1474891
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8365512/
https://examine.com/supplements/melatonin/research/#safety-and-toxicity
https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/melatonin-what-you-need-to-know
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12076414/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10594526/
https://www.jci.org/articles/view/107732
GIF Sources: Jimmy Phoebe Barack Flying Pug Spongebob Bugs
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Additional Resources
https://examine.com/supplements/melatonin/research/#ref131
https://legionathletics.com/melatonin-dosage/#melatonin-and-growth-hormone
