Sleep is crucial for overall health and well-being, influencing everything from cognitive performance to immune function. See our blog post on Why We Sleep.

One of the body’s most important regulators of sleep is melatonin, often referred to as the “sleep hormone". Melatonin is naturally produced by the body in response to darkness. It plays a critical role in signalling to the body that it’s time to wind down and prepare for rest.

This post picks up elements from our previous post on Circadian Rhythms and contains more background information on how Melatonin impacts the Circadian Rhythms.

What is Melatonin?

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland, a small structure located in the brain. The hormone’s primary role is to regulate the body’s circadian rhythms.

Throughout the day, melatonin levels remain relatively low. As evening approaches and daylight begins to fade, melatonin production is triggered by the absence of daylight. This signals to our body that it's time to rest.

After reaching its peak during the early hours of the morning, melatonin levels begin to decline as dawn approaches. This is triggered through two pathways: light exposure and cortisol release.

The retina senses increasing ambient light, even when the eyelids are closed. This signals the pineal gland to reduce melatonin production. As part of the circadian rhythm, the body also gradually starts producing cortisol in the morning. This hormone kick-starts your body and improves wakefulness.

The increase in cortisol comes with a decrease in melatonin which helps end the sleep cycle and supports the transition to wakefulness. During daylight hours, melatonin levels stay suppressed, allowing us to stay awake and active. As the next evening comes around the cycle repeats again.

This natural rise and fall of melatonin over the 24h period helps regulate sleep patterns and maintains the circadian rhythm so we can remain in sync with our external environment.

Disruptions to this cycle, such as artificial lighting, irregular sleep schedules, or jet lag, can impact melatonin production, making it harder to fall asleep or wake up at appropriate times. 

What can disrupt melatonin production?

Light is the main driver and trigger for melatonin production and suppression. As a result early morning exposure to light gives our body a strong reference point to stop melatonin production. Conversely, prolonged exposure to light in the evening delays the production of melatonin which also pushes back our time for sleep onset.

Melatonin Supplementation

While the body naturally produces melatonin, many people turn to melatonin supplements to aid their sleep. Given it is the "sleep hormone" it appears as the obvious first choice. Studies have shown that melatonin can help people fall asleep faster and improve overall sleep quality. The hormone is generally considered as safe when used appropriately and for short-term needs.

Potential Issues with Melatonin Supplementation

There are however some concerns for the usage of melatonin, especially when used over a longer time horizon.

Firstly, it's long term effects and safety on children and other populations is still being studied with some studies indicating that it might interfere with the proper development of sex hormones.

Secondly, melatonin can cause side effects such as drowsiness, headaches, or dizziness. These side effects may impair sleep quality and cause discomfort. However, if melatonin is taken late at night these side effects may persist through the night and impact one's ability to perform well the next day. 

Thirdly, melatonin is a hormone that is produced by the body naturally. Supplementing with melatonin may disrupt the body's own melatonin production bringing the system out of balance. As a result, the body relies on this external source to fall asleep. There are also concerns over dose tolerance and diminished dose response after long term and high dose melatonin consumption. This could potentially translate to habit formation and dependence if not watched properly.

Our View

Anecdotally, we have found that supplementing with melatonin will generally help with falling asleep. However, the sleep is more shallow and it does not help with staying asleep. We'd take it late at night and it would make us drowsy the next day. This ironically offsets the intended effect of having an hour or two more sleep…

We are generally hesitant in messing with the hormone system so did not supplement consistently for a long time and only took it now and then when we really needed to sleep.

Given we still needed something to work we moved on from melatonin to other more natural compounds and landed on our magic formula of Magnesium Glycinate, L-theanine and Apigenin. You can read more about these compounds here and check out the best non-melatonin supplement we developed here.

We are not health professionals and the above represents our own personal view. Consider consulting with a health professional if you are unsure about a new supplementation regimen to ensure that it’s safe and appropriate for your individual needs.