What Does It Feel Like to Take Melatonin for Insomnia? 4 People Share Their Stories
Key takeaways:
Melatonin is a supplement that people take to help with sleep problems such as insomnia and jet lag.
It’s considered a dietary supplement, not a medication, and it works to help regulate your sleep-wake cycle.
Melatonin generally has few side effects and is not habit-forming.
Melatonin is a natural hormone your body produces in response to darkness, which helps you know when it’s time to sleep. But melatonin is also available as an over-the-counter supplement that is a popular sleep aid.
People take melatonin supplements because they mimic the body’s natural hormones, and this can help reset the body’s internal sleep clock. Melatonin is a go-to supplement for thousands of Americans with sleep problems like insomnia and jet lag and those who do shift work.
While melatonin is generally considered safe to take, it can have side effects like drowsiness, headaches, and nausea. So people who have certain health conditions or who are taking certain medications should consult with their provider before taking melatonin.
People who take melatonin say it helps them fall asleep faster and improves the quality of their sleep. Here’s how four people describe their experiences taking melatonin.
Packing Melatonin to help with jet lag
When Jami Dale, an entrepreneur in Lexington, Kentucky, is traveling, she takes melatonin for the first few days of the trip to help her get to sleep.
“If I’m changing time zones when I travel, I always pack melatonin with me,” she says. “It’s hard for me to sleep in brand new places. And sleeping through the night when you’ve changed time zones is so hard. I take melatonin the first few days of my trip to help me adjust and still feel rested.”
While melatonin doesn’t always keep her asleep, Kelly says, it does induce drowsiness within a half hour that can lead to a deep sleep. The only side effect, she says, is occasionally vivid dreams.
“I have been using melatonin intermittently for years and have experienced no adverse effects upon stopping its use,” she says. “In fact, I’ve noticed that my sleep schedule tends to adjust naturally, allowing me to fall asleep more easily at the desired time even without taking melatonin.”
Insomnia had her looking for ways to fall asleep faster
Marla White, a Los Angeles-based public relations consultant, started taking melatonin to combat insomnia.
“I take melatonin and have for years,” Marla says. “It definitely relaxes me. I can feel it making me drowsy, and I can drift off to sleep. It doesn’t keep me asleep for the entire night — maybe 4 to 5 hours. But if I don’t take it, it can take hours to fall asleep.”
Marla has had insomnia for nearly 25 years, and she says melatonin has been the one thing that has helped. Although it doesn’t make her sleep through the night, it does help her to fall asleep in the first place.
“I started taking melatonin 10 years ago. I started out taking 5 mg and moved to 10 mg,” Marla says, adding that she now takes the gummies instead of the caplets/tablets. “I have noticed that I have more morning dreams [on melatonin]. I doze after 4 or 5 AM, and I can remember those dreams very clearly.”
Searching for sleep solutions
Rayne Morgan, a content marketing manager, says she started taking melatonin to feel more rested.
“I don't usually have trouble falling asleep. Staying asleep through the night was the issue,” she says. “Melatonin did help me sleep more deeply, although I still woke up throughout the night. My dreams were pretty vivid.”
She adds, “Sometimes, it did make me feel a little sick in the mornings, though — almost like I had been drinking the night before.”
Raye says she’s taken melatonin infrequently for the last 3 or 4 months, and only when she feels she needs it.
“I don't use it regularly. I feel it does a fair job of helping me to feel drowsy, but then I still do wake up throughout the night,” she says. “I've also had a friend say they used it regularly, to the point where it regulated their circadian clock. So maybe I’m just not taking it frequently enough to see consistent results.”
What does the pharmacist say?
Stacia Woodcock, PharmD
Pharmacy Editor
Melatonin is an over-the-counter supplement that is often taken to help with sleep issues. Your body makes melatonin in response to darkness, and it acts as a signal to your body that it’s time to go to sleep. Taking extra melatonin as a supplement helps boost this signal and help you get to sleep when you’re following a regular schedule. It can also help you sleep at times when your body wouldn’t normally release melatonin, such as during the day if you’re a shift worker or in a new time zone if you’re traveling.
Studies show that taking melatonin supplements can help you fall asleep faster and have better quality sleep. Slow-release melatonin may work better to help you stay asleep if that’s an issue. But keep in mind that it can take a few hours for melatonin supplements to start working, so taking them an hour or two before bedtime is best.
When it comes to what dose to take, everyone responds to melatonin differently. So it’s best to start with a low dose of melatonin (about 1 mg to 2 mg) and increase it as needed, until you find the dose that works best for you. Higher doses are more likely to cause side effects or make you feel drowsy the next day. Doses over 10 mg aren’t recommended. And it’s best to only take melatonin if you’re able to rest for a full 7 to 8 hours.
Melatonin isn’t habit-forming the way that some other sleep aids are. And it seems to be safer than other sleep medications for children and people who are 65 years and older. But it’s still best to review your medications and health conditions with your healthcare provider or pharmacist before you begin taking a melatonin supplement.
If you need to take melatonin for more than 2 weeks at a time, let your provider know. There may be a more serious reason for your sleep issues that should be addressed.
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