Research

Hormonal

Exogenous melatonin administration (0.1–3 mg) improves sleep efficiency and reduces sleep onset latency, particularly in elderly individuals with nocturnal melatonin deficiency or circadian rhythm sleep disorders.

If you are older and struggle with falling asleep, melatonin (0.1–3 mg) taken before bed can help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep, especially if you are already taking other sleep aids. It works best if your natural melatonin production is low, which is common with aging. It is not a strong sedative for young people with normal sleep rhythms.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Administration of melatonin (3 mg, orally) for up to 6 months to insomnia patients as an add-on to hypnotic (benzodiazepine) treatment augmented sleep quality and duration and decreased sleep onset latency, as well as the number of awakening episodes in elderly insomniacs [168].
Seithikurippu R. Pandi‐Perumal et al. · FEBS Journal · 2006

Why this rating

Supported by multiple meta-analyses and clinical trials, though one meta-analysis showed non-significant results due to heterogeneity.

Source

Melatonin

Seithikurippu R. Pandi‐Perumal et al. · FEBS Journal · 2006

DOI 10.1111/j.1742-4658.2006.05322.x

narrative_reviewCited 865×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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