You Might Increase Your Risk for Some Health Issues "For example, some people might experience side effects after taking melatonin, including drowsiness, stomach aches or dizziness," says Dr. Weiss. Since supplemental melatonin is relatively new in the grand scheme of human existence, the long-term effects are TBD.
If melatonin does seem to help, it's safe for most people to take nightly for one to two months. “After that, stop and see how your sleep is,” he suggests. “Be sure you're also relaxing before bed, keeping the lights low and sleeping in a cool, dark, comfortable bedroom for optimal results.”
The possible dangers of using melatonin long-term
But this isn't all the hormone does — it also impacts the body's temperature, blood sugar, and blood vessel tone which is the degree of constriction experienced by a blood vessel compared to the maximum dilated state.
Melatonin side effects are typically rare and mild but can include daytime sleepiness, headache, nausea, and dizziness. More research is needed to understand the effects of long-term melatonin use. Talk to your doctor before taking melatonin during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.
Melatonin supplements are commonly used for sleep problems. There's no evidence that melatonin is harmful to your heart, liver, or kidneys when taken as directed. But it can lower blood pressure and make bleeding more likely, especially if you take other blood pressure or blood-thinning medications.
If you've been researching the effects of melatonin, you may have stumbled across speculation that taking the supplement for too long could cause your natural melatonin production to go down. However, there's no proof that this is the case. “Your body is naturally dependent on melatonin already,” explains Dr. Horvat.
If you've gotten into the habit of taking melatonin nightly and want to stop, consult with your doctor and be sure to commit to a consistent bedtime, nightly routine, and wake-up time to help your body get back to great sleep, naturally.
Melatonin is a hormone that your brain produces in response to darkness. It helps with the timing of your circadian rhythms (24-hour internal clock) and with sleep. Being exposed to light at night can block melatonin production. Research suggests that melatonin plays other important roles in the body beyond sleep.
What is a safe melatonin dose? According to Michael Grandner, director of the Sleep and Health Research Program at the University of Arizona, “melatonin is very safe if taken in normal doses,” which is anything between 0.5 mg and 5 mg.
Taking too much melatonin can actually cause rebound insomnia —either rendering the supplement ineffective or worse, exacerbating your already sleepless nights further. You only need tiny doses of melatonin to support your natural sleep cycle.
Sometimes your doctor will recommend that you only take melatonin 2 or 3 times a week to see if that improves your sleep first. Melatonin should only be taken for a maximum of 13 weeks to treat short-term sleep problems in adults, but longer courses may be used on the advice of a specialist.
Melatonin has been linked to headaches, dizziness, nausea, stomach cramps, drowsiness, confusion or disorientation, irritability and mild anxiety, depression and tremors as well as abnormally low blood pressure. It can also interact with common medications and trigger allergies.
Bleeding disorders: Melatonin might make bleeding worse in people with bleeding disorders. Depression: Melatonin can make symptoms of depression worse. High blood pressure: Melatonin can raise blood pressure in people who are taking certain medications to control blood pressure. Avoid using it.
Besides the positive effect on depressive symptoms, melatonin may also be used to treat anxiety, sleep and circadian disturbances. Melatonin has been recommended as the first-line treatment of patients aged over 55 years suffering from insomnia, parasomnia and circadian rhythm sleep disorders [44].
Daytime sleepiness or grogginess
The popular use of melatonin is to make you sleep. However, this sleepiness can carry on into the following day. Daytime sleepiness is when you feel the need to fall asleep despite wanting to be awake. This is the most common side effect people experience when taking melatonin.
Melatonin's target sites are both central and peripheral. Binding sites have been found in many areas of the brain, including the pars tuberalis and hypothalamus, but also in the cells of the immune system, gonads, kidney, and the cardiovascular system (39, 40).
How Long Does Melatonin Stay in Your System? The half-life of melatonin is between 20 and 50 minutes, meaning half of the initial dosage in the body is eliminated after that amount of time. In total, melatonin stays in your system for about four to five hours.
On the other hand, melatonin inhibits the sympathetic system in several ways representing potentially the counter-regulatory mechanism to normalize excessive sympathetic drive. Second, administration of melatonin reduces heart rate in animals and humans.
One study. View Source of older adults with insomnia found that magnesium supplementation at a dose of 500 milligrams daily for eight weeks helped them fall asleep fast, stay asleep longer, reduced nighttime awakenings, and increased their levels of naturally circulating melatonin.
However, in the UK, Melatonin is not authorised to be sold without a prescription. This means that it's illegal to sell it in health food shops as Melatonin supplements, like Melatonin gummies. Any sale of Melatonin without a doctor's prescription is illegal in the UK because it's a prescription-only medicine.
Stress, depression, and anxiety
Stress activates the body's “fight-or-flight” response, leading to increased cortisol levels and a heightened state of alertness, which can interrupt sleep cycles and wake you up around 3 am.
Using Melatonin Every Day
Long-term use typically isn't recommended, and it can increase the risk of side effects without solving the underlying cause of sleep issues. Other approaches, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, might be better for people with persistent sleep problems, Covassin adds.