Melatonin by Form: Pros and Cons of Pills, Gummies, and Liquids
Note: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not approve supplements for safety or effectiveness. Talk to a healthcare professional about whether a supplement is the right fit for your individual health, and about any potential drug interactions or safety concerns.
Popping a melatonin supplement before bed seems like the thing to do for a good night’s sleep. Indeed, the number of people in the United States who take melatonin has increased nearly fivefold since the turn of the 21st century.
Melatonin is a hormone made by the pineal gland; it helps control our circadian rhythm, changes in body temperature, and functions like alertness and sleep, says Muhammad A. Rishi, MD, MBBS, a sleep medicine specialist at Indiana University Health in Indianapolis.
Darkness at night triggers the release of melatonin in the brain, signaling that it’s time to wind down for bed, explains Rebecca Robbins, PhD, a sleep scientist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. When you’re exposed to light in the morning, “the floodgates of melatonin from the night before close,” she says.
But our technology-rich lifestyles can get in the way of melatonin release at night so it is more difficult to fall asleep. That’s where supplements can enter the picture, providing your body with melatonin that may aid in sleep. Just keep in mind that like other dietary supplements, melatonin is not regulated by the FDA. It’s important to consult your doctor before taking it; they will establish the proper dose and ensure that the supplements won’t interact with medications you’re already taking or pose other risks. After you get the go-ahead from your physician, you can find dozens of melatonin options in just about any health food store or pharmacy, and in various forms, including gummies, capsules, and liquids.
While soft, chewable gummies may give you flashbacks to childhood, anyone can take this form of melatonin, which typically comes in a 1 to 10 milligram (mg) dose. Since the FDA doesn’t regulate supplements, there is no officially recommended dosage for melatonin, but studies have examined its effects from 0.1 mg to 10 mg.
“The effect of external melatonin depends on the dose and timing of administration,” Dr. Rishi says. For instance, a small dose (from 0.1 to 0.3 mg) several hours before your desired bedtime can help move your circadian rhythm so that it’s easier to fall asleep earlier. A larger dose (0.6 to 5 mg) at bedtime, however, can be hypnotic, meaning sleep inducing, he explains.
Many melatonin gummies contain added sugar, so read the labels to understand exactly how much you’re getting and decide if that fits with your health goals.
Pros
Taste good
Chewable and easier to swallow
May include additional sleep-supporting ingredients like magnesium and vitamin B6
Cons
Taste like candy, so it’s easier to overdo
May come in odd shapes, making it challenging to cut into a smaller dose
Most melatonin pills contain 1 to 10 mg of melatonin. One of the main pros of taking a capsule or tablet is that you can break it up for a smaller dose. “In numerous clinical trials and in my practice, less is more — 300 micrograms (0.3 mg) — is effective for many people, as long as they also follow good sleep hygiene practices,” says Alex Dimitriu, MD, who is double board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine and the founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine in San Francisco.
If you are taking a smaller dose, make sure that you purchase 1 mg dose pills; otherwise, dividing one pill into the size needed would be extremely challenging.
Pros
Longer shelf life
Tasteless
Easy to divide
Cons
Can be difficult to swallow
Need to take with water
Liquid melatonin can range from 1 to 10 mg doses. Some of these contain added sugar or sugar-free sweeteners (such as stevia), so make sure that you read the label so you know what you’re getting and avoid unwanted additives. To take liquid melatonin, you can drop the contents of the dropper straight into your mouth or add it to juice or water before bed. This may add extra calories and sugar before you sleep, which can be okay, depending on your other health conditions.
Pros
Easier to take if you have difficulty swallowing pills
Easy to take a smaller dose
Faster absorption
Cons
May have an unpleasant taste
Might be more expensive than other forms
If you’re thinking about taking melatonin to improve your sleep, there are a few actions you should take to prepare.
1. Seek Approval From Your Healthcare Provider
Always consult your doctor and get their okay before adding any new supplements to your regimen. Melatonin is plentiful on store shelves, but that doesn’t mean it is definitely safe to use for everyone. It may interact with some medications, including certain blood thinners, blood pressure medications, and immunosuppressants. “I recommend against the use of melatonin without consulting your provider,” Rishi says.
Melatonin can be used in a variety of ways — including treating jet lag and certain circadian rhythm disorders — as well as for acute bouts of grief or trauma, Dr. Robbins says. In the short term, sleep aids like melatonin can be improve sleep during difficult times. However, melatonin is not intended as a treatment for chronic insomnia because of a lack of strong evidence.
2. Read the Label
The tricky thing about melatonin is that it’s marketed as a dietary supplement, Rishi says. “That means that the product does not go under the same rigorous inspection that over-the-counter medications would with the FDA,” he explains. As a result, what’s on the label might not be in the product.
Indeed, one study that compared the amount of melatonin found in supplements with the amount stated on the label found it ranged widely — from 83 percent less to as high as 478 percent more. Another study found that melatonin gummies had 74 to 347 percent of their labeled dose in the product, and 22 of 25 products analyzed were inaccurately labeled.
Rishi recommends purchasing products that contain the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) mark. “This means that the manufacturer has pledged to meet the minimum standards for over-the-counter drugs for their supplements,” he says. Additionally, you can check labels for NSF or ConsumerLab.com approval. This means the product has undergone third-party testing for quality and purity.
3. Note How You Feel Before and After
Pay attention to how melatonin supplements make you feel, both just after taking them and the next day. Dr. Dimitriu points out that one side effect of melatonin is next-day fatigue and even depression. Older adults and people who are taking progestin-containing oral contraceptives may be more sensitive to melatonin, he says.
Start small with your dose and adjust from there, under the guidance of your doctor, to find what makes you feel your best at night and the next day. You don’t want to use the highest dose thinking it will knock you out, Robbins says.
4. Don’t Forget About Sleep Hygiene
Overall, what you do before bed is going to make a bigger, more lasting difference for good sleep. “Always try the lowest dose [of melatonin] possible while putting maximum effort into behavioral interventions,” Dimitriu says. For example, develop a bedtime routine. What you do will be unique to you, but it should help you wind down, such as taking a warm shower, doing light stretching, or turning off the TV to read a book in dim light. Maintaining a regular sleep-wake schedule will also help your body be ready for bed. In that way, you can think of melatonin as providing an assist, but you’re doing the heavy lifting to ensure that you get the quality sleep you need.
Melatonin, in the form of gummies, pills, and liquids, may be a helpful sleep aid, supporting your natural circadian rhythm for better rest.
It's important to talk to your doctor before adding melatonin or any supplement to your routine to ensure that it's safe for you, to establish proper dosage, and to confirm that it won’t interact with medications you’re already taking.
Start with the lowest possible dosage of melatonin, under the guidance of your healthcare team, and maintain good sleep hygiene habits for the best results.
