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Ingredients

Melatonin

Snapshot

IndicationsContraindications
  • Jet lag1
  • Delayed sleep-wake phase disorder1
  • Sleep onset latency2
  • Sleep in autism3
  • Preoperative anxiety1
  • Sleep after brain injury4
  • Delirium in intensive care5
  • Dementia1
  • Pregnancy or nursing6

Melatonin is a hormone the brain releases in darkness, and supplements act on the circadian clock to shift sleep timing1. It is taken for jet lag, delayed sleep-wake phase disorder, sleep disturbance in children with autism spectrum disorder, and anxiety before surgery1.

A meta-analysis found melatonin may improve sleep latency and total sleep time in people with autism, though results varied widely between studies3. Guidelines cited by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health find too little evidence to endorse it for chronic insomnia1. In overweight night-shift nurses, a small 2021 randomized crossover trial found melatonin on non-night-shift nights reduced circadian misalignment, with lower body weight in early chronotypes7. Products list melatonin as tablets, capsules, and liquids; see Form comparison.

Melatonin may stay active longer in older adults and cause daytime drowsiness1. Per the National Institutes of Health fact sheet, people with epilepsy or on blood thinners need medical supervision1. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center directs warfarin users to their healthcare provider because of bleeding risk8.

Last updated October 16, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

75 sources, 57 studies

  • When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
  • SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
  • InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
  • Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
  • How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
  • Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
  • Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
  • Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.
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Articles

Sources

  1. 1NCCIHnccih.nih.govNational Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
  2. 2Meta-analysis: melatonin for the treatment of primary sleep disorders.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govFerracioli-Oda, Qawasmi, Bloch · PloS one · 2013 · Pubmed
  3. 3Melatonin for sleep disorders in people with autism: Systematic review and meta-analysis.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govNogueira, de Castro, da Silva et al. · Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry · 2023 · Pubmed
  4. 4Efficacy of melatonin for sleep disturbance following traumatic brain injury: a randomised controlled trial.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govGrima, Rajaratnam, Mansfield et al. · BMC medicine · 2018 · Pubmed
  5. 5Melatonin Use in the ICU: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govTang, Manalo, Chowdhury et al. · Critical care medicine · 2025 · Pubmed
  6. 6US product labelsdsld.od.nih.govWarnings printed on US dietary supplement labels with this ingredient, from the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements' Dietary Supplement Label Database (DSLD). Manufacturers' precautions, not evidence of harm
  7. 7Exogenous melatonin decreases circadian misalignment and body weight among early types.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govMarqueze, Nogueira, Vetter et al. · Journal of pineal research · 2021 · Pubmed
  8. 8MSKCCmskcc.orgMemorial Sloan Kettering — About Herbs, Botanicals & Other Products