Melatonin: 5 Myths and Misunderstandings
Melatonin is a neurotransmitter-like hormone produced in the pineal gland of our brains that plays an important role regulating our circadian rhythm. Our circadian rhythm is essentially the internal or biological clock of physiological processes like sleep patterns, hormone release, body temperature, and metabolism.
When we get to the module about optimizing sleep quality with our Migraine Freedom coaching clients, questions about melatonin come up on nearly every call. There are a lot of misconceptions about melatonin, and we’d like to debunk some of the myths and misunderstandings we hear! Perhaps some of these have been nagging you as well…
Myth 1: Melatonin will make me go to sleep.
Melatonin isn’t a sleep aid in the way that sleeping pills are, it basically just resets the body’s internal clock. So for healthy individuals, melatonin would only be necessary:
– after shift work or recovering from jetlag, to help your body adjust to a new sleeping pattern.
– after highly stimulating or light exposing activities in the late evening hours, such as a night out dancing or going to a movie. Over stimulation or excessive light in the evening can actually be melatonin suppressing, and melatonin supplement would help kick-start your body’s own natural production to prepare for rest.
Typically, a melatonin supplement is not beneficial for general insomnia. 1
Myth 2: I will get addicted to melatonin and my body will stop making it.
It’s not so much getting addicted, but there are experts who say that taking melatonin constantly and in large amounts will desensitize the receptors. Researchers at MIT showed that a 0.3mg dose of melatonin is enough to have the desired effect of improving sleep, yet melatonin supplements are often sold in doses as high as 3 or 5mg! Unless this is a prolonged release formula, you may want to stick to the 0.3mg supplements and if they don’t do anything for your sleep – look for other causes and solutions. 2
If this resonates with you, check out my book Supercharge Your Sleep where we dig a little deeper into sleep habits for better quality sleep.
Myth 3: Melatonin makes me feel groggy in the morning
While a “melatonin hangover” could potentially be a side effect of taking too much supplemental melatonin, melatonin itself doesn’t make you sleep. However – if you start sleeping deeply and haven’t been in a while, your brain has a lot of toxins to clear.
Brain cleansing happens during deep sleep when the brain volume shrinks as much as 60% to allow glymphatic fluid to exchange and carry out toxins. Having these toxins suddenly dumping into the rest of the body can cause grogginess, stiffness and other “side effects” we can experience from supplemental melatonin. 3
Myth 4: If I don’t have sleep problems, I don’t need to worry about melatonin.
Melatonin also has a role as an antioxidant, anti inflammatory, stimulator of bone growth and immune-regulating hormone. It has also been shown to help people healing from stomach ulcers and reduction of Gastroesophageal reflux disease.
Myth 5: Melatonin is sold over the counter so it is always safe to take.
Melatonin isn’t for everyone, and can have negative effects on certain people.
A study published in the October 2007 issue of the “British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology” demonstrated that rheumatoid arthritis actually worsened in study subjects who took supplemental melatonin. This finding surprised and disappointed the study’s authors, who thought supplemental melatonin might benefit people with autoimmune diseases. However, these results mirror more recent research published in May 2014 in the “Journal of Immunology Research,” which confirms that high levels of melatonin seem to worsen rheumatoid arthritis by stimulating immune cells to release inflammatory cytokines.
Also, like many supplements, it’s not clear that it is safe during pregnancy. Did you know women’s melatonin levels rise and fall during their menstrual cycle!?
Melatonin is also know to counteract blood thinners, immunosuppressants and medications for diabetes and birth control.
You can see why it’d a good idea to check with your doctor before starting to use this supplement!
What now?
If you’ve been using melatonin as a sleep aid and continuously struggle to get quality sleep WE CAN HELP! Check out our ebook Supercharge Your Sleep to read about our sure-fire habits to optimize your sleep.
OR let’s set up a case review to dig a little deeper uncover your root cause problems to your sleep problems.
Using melatonin as a sleep aid but continuously struggle to get quality sleep? WE CAN HELP!
Check out our ebook Supercharge Your Sleep to read about our sure-fire habits to optimize your sleep.
I used to use melatonin when I traveled.. and then once I got really ill – not due to the melatonin, but I never really took it after that. Fast forward to many years later, I do not use anything for jet lag now. I have read a few times that melatonin is illegal in the UAE where I live. I do not know if that is still true… so in addition to asking a doctor about side affects, it is probably a good idea to carry a prescription for it – if it is over the counter in the US, that may not be the case in other countries! I so appreciate your article because it shows that even substances that we think are natural, can aggravate other conditions.
WOW! I recently heard about the benefits to melatonin and had been seriously considering taking a nightly supplement, but after reading this, I think I’m going to hold off unless the circumstances you mentioned come up. Thank you for such an interesting topic. I’m so excited about your book as sleep has become somewhat elusive to me as I approach the “50” mark.
GREAT article…
There are Melatonin supplements that consist of substances, like titan dioxide, preservatives, sugars, fillers, talcum, soja, etc. Make sure that the product you use is free of allergens or toxins.
I recommend 5-HTP which will be methylated into serotonin and then melatonin. Make sure you have sufficient B-Vitamins, Vit. C, zinc, iron, MSM (sulfur) as well as all essential amino acids.
Supplementing with 5-HTP (1 capsule daily in the late afternoon) AND melatonin 1-2 mg will have even more benefits.
This is a great post. I started taking melatonin years ago to help me sleep. Emphasis on HELP. It’s not a magic bullet.
My brother has been trying out melatonin to help his sleep lately. This is definitely something I’ll send over to him, for reference!
We have never used melatonin before but a lot of people recommended us to take it as we travel a lot. Thanks for this post.. we will try test it out.
I have taken melatonin before and it was helpful. I didn’t know this: “Brain cleansing happens during deep sleep when the brain volume shrinks as much as 60% to allow glymphatic fluid to exchange and carry out toxins. Having these toxins suddenly dumping into the rest of the body can cause grogginess, stiffness and other “side effects” we can experience from supplemental melatonin.” which makes me realize the importance of sleep to our overall health.
So many myths to bust when it comes to melatonin and its supplemental intake. I didn’t realize it had such a huge impact with our sleep patterns!
So much to learn in life.Your post is so very informative on knowledge and myths surrounding Melatonin.Thanks for sharing.
Interesting information you shared in this post! I did not know that there are other benefits we can get from melatonin aside from being a sleep aid. Thanks for the information. I will have to ask my endocrinologist about it.
I took melatonin at one point in college. I ended up having crazy nightmares and stopped using it after two months. lol
These are interesting myths that are being passed around about melatonin. I’d like to learn more on it.
This is some really great advice when it comes to melatonin. We use it for my son because of his ADHD meds.
These are interesting things about Melatonin. Thanks for sharing.
I’m a pharmacist and this is a good way of informing the public about the uses of melatonin. Great article. I’ll share this with my friends.