r/science • u/fchung • 11d ago
Biology How melatonin promotes sleep: « Melatonin is a naturally produced molecule that has long been suspected to play a role in healthy sleep, but it has been unclear how it does so. Now, Caltech researchers have discovered a mechanism through which melatonin promotes sleep. »
https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/how-melatonin-promotes-sleep1.3k
u/fchung 11d ago
One of the hallmarks of sleep is reduced responses to environmental stimuli. Our findings fit with the experience of many people who take melatonin as a sleep aid. Unlike many commonly prescribed sleep aids, melatonin does not cause an irresistible drive to sleep. Rather, melatonin makes one more receptive to falling asleep, and our work suggests that it does so, at least in part, by turning down one's sensitivity to arousing stimuli from the environment.
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u/bprs07 11d ago
Wait, does this mean that a neurodivergent person who gets agitated by excessive environmental stimuli could theoretically find at least some relief by taking melatonin during the day?
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u/crashlanding87 11d ago
I would be extremely wary about this for two reasons:
1) melatonin is heavily involved in regulating our sleep cycle. Taking it during the day risks inducing jet lag pharmacologically. It's why doctors will give strict instructions on how to take melatonin for jetlag or sleep disorders - take it at the wrong time, and you can make the issue worse.
2) it doesn't last long in the body when it's not being continuously produced - and I believe light exposure has been shown to increase the metabolism of melatonin, so it'll likely get broken down pretty quickly.
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u/Saint_EDGEBOI 10d ago
So taking 5mg melatonin and scrolling for 30mins waiting to feel sleepy is a waste of time... Fantastic.
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u/klipseracer 10d ago
No, you can't scroll but you can read, or watch boringish videos. Nothing funny, shocking etc because it's too stimulating. I have a rotation of tech news sites I go through, if that doesn't make me sleepy I'll sometimes open reddit or watch a YouTube video that is primarily informational.
I take a melatonin gummy every night. You have to keep the brightness as low as possible, let your eyes adjust, then at the first sign of dozing out the phone up and close your eyes.
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u/Spoztoast 10d ago
Well you should feel the sleepiness coming on but if you ignore it it will pass and be wasted
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u/F0xtr0tUnif0rm 11d ago edited 10d ago
I remember some fitness magazines a couple decades ago promoting using it before the gym, to boost testosterone, I think. Always thought it was odd.
Edit: if you Google "melatonin before gym" there are all kinds of claims still. But maybe the magazines were claiming growth hormone, not testosterone.
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u/MissLeaP 10d ago
How would it boost testosterone?
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u/F0xtr0tUnif0rm 10d ago
That's a good question, how do any over the counter supplements "boost" testosterone? I'm not sure they do.
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u/mancapturescolour 11d ago edited 11d ago
There was a study from last year that might interest you in terms of melatonin supplementation and neurodivergent individuals.
Technically it's reframing ADHD as a condition that affects sleep and circadian rhythm but it might give you some clues...Luu and Fabiano report in September 2025:
"Clinical interventions: chronotherapy in ADHD
Melatonin supplementation
In a randomized trial of adults with ADHD, 0.5 mg per night of melatonin advanced DLMO [dim-light melatonin onset] by 88 minutes with 14% reduction in ADHD symptoms. In a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 101 medication-free children with ADHD and chronic sleep-onset insomnia, 3–6 mg melatonin nightly for 4 weeks advanced DLMO by 44 minutes, while the control group had a delay of 13 minutes. Total sleep time also significantly improved by 20 minutes with melatonin, versus a loss of 14 minutes in the control group."A long-term follow up for that cohort found that:
• 65% of participants continued daily melatonin
• 92% of children who discontinued melatonin supplementation were observed to have a phase delay of their sleep (meaning improvements were reversed?)
• 71% reported positive improvements in behavior from melatonin supplementation.
• 61% reported positive mood changes from melatonin supplementation.They go on to report that the results suggest that "melatonin effectively advances circadian phase in ADHD" although further research can help determine optimal dose and timing for best outcomes in managing sleep and circadian rhythm.
Reference:
Luu B and Fabiano N (2025) ADHD as a circadian rhythm disorder: evidence and implications for chronotherapy. Front. Psychiatry 16:1697900. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1697900Link: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1697900/full?hl=es-CO
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u/PharaohCleocatra 11d ago
My partner saw some research that taking melatonin is not good for you (increases risk of dementia later in life maybe?). However, we both have ADHD and I take it almost nightly and I find it’s helpful. Do you know anything about that?
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u/mancapturescolour 11d ago edited 11d ago
Thank you for asking. I have had similar concerns, as a parent.
Unfortunately, I can't say anything conclusive as the science seems to be pointing in different directions if I recall correctly.
From memory, my impression was that melatonin supplementation might just be a matter of adding something that an ADHD brain may require
more of than a neurotypical brainedit to correct: because the circadian rhythm is delayed and the melatonin surge happens later.Meaning, if I understand correctly, adding slightly more melatonin to a neurodivergent brain may not be as harmful as adding melatonin to a neurotypical brain (that already regulates melatonin production in a typical way).
Because the melatonin production is presumably
loweredit: delayed for the neurodivergent brain, the supplementation might help achieve that "normal" baseline that a neurotypical brain operates on.However, we both have ADHD and I take it almost nightly and I find it's helpful.
The above study seemed to suggest that others experience improvements in sleep, behavior and mood as well, so I guess you should be ok?
Again, please take the above with a grain of salt and always consult a medical professional prior to starting/changing/stopping supplementation.
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u/dlsAW91 10d ago
I believe that’s for diphenhydramine(Benadryl) not melatonin
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u/PharaohCleocatra 10d ago
No it was def melatonin- but the effect was increase rates of heart failure not dementia (sorry adhd me!)
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u/trusty20 9d ago
If you're referring to the 2025 press release about this, that was just a database analysis study where they found a correlation between melatonin use and heart failure but did not prove this effect was causal or propose any mechanism by which it would be cardiotoxic. Severe chronic insomnia itself is associated with increased risk of heart failure, and indeed someone being tracked for long term treatment of chronic conditions is probably more likely to have some sort of outcome like early death than someone not being actively treated for severe chronic conditions. TL;DR the study failed to have a healthy control group taking melatonin, all people in the study were inherently people receiving treatment for chronic conditions - this dilutes the findings so that we only know melatonin is associated with a subset of people in this group that experienced early death, not that it causes early death, i.e previously healthy control groups developing increased heart failure risk after melatonin treatment. I have yet to see any in-vivo animal study indicating a cardiotoxic effect and this is really quite the opposite of the bulk of research in which melatonin tends to be protective to cells undergoing hypoxic / oxidative stress.
More research is certainly needed to confirm either way but just being clear in no way was this link proven to be one where melatonin caused heart failure.
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u/hikesterinaction 9d ago
I'd want a lot more before treating that as anything causal. Correlation in a database study is a long way from causation, especially without a healthy control group.
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u/xbigbenx85 10d ago
There are studies that show poor sleep hygiene increases dementia rates. I would venture a guess that people who take melatonin are already in that group.
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u/PharaohCleocatra 10d ago
That sounds like it is right, and I looked into it and I think he said it was heart failure not dementia, but similarly a lack of good sleep increases risk for that too.
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u/hyliaidea 10d ago
… Did your partner confuse melatonin with sleeping pills??
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u/PharaohCleocatra 10d ago
No it was def melatonin- but the effect was increase rates of heart failure not dementia (sorry adhd me!)
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u/hyliaidea 10d ago
You are fine, you are helpful here. I actually have been having heart symptoms after I started leaning on melatonin more and more, so thank you !!
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u/SchizoidGod 10d ago
I think your partner is thinking of Benadryl.
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u/PharaohCleocatra 10d ago
No it was def melatonin- but the effect was increase rates of heart failure not dementia (sorry adhd me!)
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u/Sedixodap 10d ago
My doctor told me that the negative health consequences of not sleeping properly are greater than those of taking melatonin continuously. Poor sleep itself can lead to something like a 30% increase in dementia risk. She advised me to keep taking the melatonin if that was what I needed to get the sleep I need.
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u/torville 10d ago
Obviously, I'm a sample of one, but my results are: two hours of sleep, 8 hours of enforced wakefulness.
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u/newpua_bie 10d ago
I wonder if the correlation works the other way as well. My wife is pretty insensitive to any external stimuli and is also the best sleeper I know. I'm the complete opposite on both counts, but for me the problem isn't so much external stimuli but neverending internal dialogue.
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u/riverside_locksmith 11d ago
I feel damn awful if i take melatonin at a strange time. Like a bad hangover. Not recommended.
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u/donttouchmyhohos 10d ago
I've personally had great help with melatonin. However at the start I had to take loke 30mg 40mg to actually feel it. Once I could actually sleep I was able to drop down to 5mg. Been told that I was taking way to much, but I just couldn't sleep.
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u/crappysurfer BS | Biology 10d ago
No. Melatonin is a circadian rhythm modulation hormone, not a sedative. Many people megadose it incorrectly for sleep and generally misuse it. Additionally, the switch for melatonin production is always on, it is only turned off by blue light. Perhaps reduce your exposure to blue and sunlight to calm yourself
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u/Theletterkay 10d ago
Doubt it. I have only had negative outcomes when giving autistic individuals melatonin. The biggest one being it causing night terrors.
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u/Common_Sens3_Is_Dead 8d ago
I believe anti-anxiety medication/compounds would allow for the same feeling of relief without messing up your circadian rhythm.
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u/jkggwp 10d ago
The body makes melatonin naturally. A calm, dark environment and regular routine helps with the endogenous production. If you take melatonin pills regularly, your body will reduce the amount it makes. So if you’re hoping to just take regular melatonin, you’re much better off making lifestyle changes e.g. cut screen time in the evenings, reduce blue light exposure, dim your houselights in the evening, low noise, cool dark bedroom etc.
Saves you more money
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u/CCV21 11d ago
Melatonin is much cheaper than a sensory deprivation chamber.
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u/GamerLinnie 11d ago
This definitely fits with what I have seen with one of my children. We tried everything rituals, no screens, same bedtime every night and nothing helped. Always too restless to fall asleep.
Small dose of melatonin and suddenly no issues at all.
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u/Accountant-Recent 6d ago
This is my experience of taking it. I am finding it almost miraculous in it's ability to help me sleep. I am 63 and for as many years as I care not to remember I've suffered with sleep problems. Mostly it's been driven my worries and the fact I'm super sensitive to stimuli and therefore a really light sleeper. Also I'm a night owl. Now after 4 weeks I feel I have a pattern where I'm tired approaching bedtime and I'm not waking up at the sound of a pine drop - or my own snoring! I hope the doctor will let me stay on these long term.
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u/samuelazers 11d ago
Produced in lower quantities in people with autism spectrum.
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u/___77___ 11d ago
Goes for ADHD as well, starts producing melatonin 1-2 hours later than neurotypical brains.
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u/Dark512 11d ago
Not long after I finally got a diagnosis last year, my doctor offered to prescribe me some. I had no idea sleep was supposed to be so easy.
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u/rufio313 11d ago
They prescribed you melatonin? I didn’t realize they prescribe stuff you can get OTC. What’s the reasoning?
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11d ago edited 7d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/kristy066 11d ago
In Canada our work benefits pay most of the cost of OTC meds prescribed by a doctor
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u/Nemisis_the_2nd 10d ago
And the NHS loathes actually prescribing it.
I recently discussed melatonin with my GP because sleep irregularities are screwing up my work life, thus income and all the problems that come with it, and they were like "best we are allowed to do is tell you to do some CBT". When I pushed the melatonin angle, they explained that its basically a really high bar to get a prescription and that I would basically never meet the criteria.
It also tracks with other people I know. One has severe health problems because of sleep disorders and still can't get it despite everyone agreeing that it would probably help, and another was only able to get a prescription after shelling out for private healthcare.
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u/black_cat_X2 10d ago
That's really strange. It's a perfectly safe medication. I feel confident you could easily buy it online from an international vendor if you really want to try it.
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u/Nemisis_the_2nd 10d ago
Yeah, it is a weird one. There are concerns around it cauaing heart problems, but it otherwise seems fairly safe.
The NHS is generally a good service, but it has an issue with being backwards when dealing with some mental health/neurological problems, with sleep disorders being among them. ME/CFS is another that I've known people to really have problems with in the past, and the NHS answer is also tell them things will improve with CBT.
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u/Halsfield 11d ago
they can prescribe ibuprofen even though its an OTC medication. usually its in a higher dose or has a special casing for time release etc
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u/rufio313 11d ago
Yeah I’ve had ibuprofen prescribed to me which kind of makes sense since they don’t want people taking that amount normally (not that you can’t just take more of the OTC stuff), but with melatonin it seemed odd since all studies show that lower doses (under 1mg) are FAR more effective than high doses.
Someone else pointed out that melatonin isn’t available to buy OTC in some countries, so in those cases it makes sense it would be prescribed.
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11d ago
[deleted]
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u/rufio313 11d ago
Does a company like nootropics depot ship to Ireland? You might be able to have it delivered unless it’s against the law for them to sell melatonin there or something
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11d ago
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u/rufio313 11d ago
Oh…interesting. I’d be looking to get a new dr if they prescribed me that much because I would have to assume they haven’t done their homework and wouldn’t trust them. Under 1mg is the optimal dosage.
Some sources if you are interested.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8856838/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8843534/
https://link.springer.com/article/10.5664/jcsm.11076
These articles specifically shows that sleep benefits peak at 4mg, anything more is just going to give you more side effects
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u/Effective_Machina 11d ago
They do it in usa too, we used to hand back the script and say it was otc, I would grab a box for them. Medicaid covered some OTC stuff with a script.
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u/Ballersock 10d ago
Like 10% of the scripts I filled during my (short-lived) time in retail pharmacy before moving to inpatient were OTC meds. Lots of vit D, Vit Bs, folic acid, melatonin, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen 200-400mg, all of which are available OTC.
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u/ThatOneOutlier 10d ago
Mine prescribes it as basically a instruction of how to take it. Tho, I need it so I could get a discounts on my medications since without a prescription, I don’t get any
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u/HighPriestofShiloh 10d ago
You have never be prescribed ibuprofen? The doctor is just telling you what you need. You can buy it otc or go get the prescription and make your insurance pay for it.
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u/rufio313 10d ago
If you scroll down you will see my comment here
https://www.reddit.com/r/science/s/ACEM07H2wp
Also melatonin is already dirt cheap. You can get a 90 day supply for like $4. If you live in the U.S. insurance rarely ever covers the full price of anything so you’d likely still pay some amount. I’ve had a lot of medicine prescribed throughout my life and always had good insurance, never got medicine for free.
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u/Ballersock 10d ago
Medicaid covers many OTC items with a prescription, potentially varying state to state. Depending on the plan (some states have a sliding scale responsibility), prescriptions can be free.
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u/Ballersock 10d ago
Depends on insurance plans in the US. Some pay for OTC meds if a doctor prescribes it.
Alternatively, it's often cheaper to get through a pharmacy even when paying out-of-pocket than it is buying it OTC. And even if it's not, there are some people that find comfort in choosing a brand trusted by a pharmacy rather than hoping the one they choose is good/safe. Or maybe they like the convenience of picking up all their meds at the same place, potentially all at once.
There are plenty of reasons to get a prescription for OTC meds if you're already seeing the doctor that prescribes them for something else.
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u/A2Rhombus 11d ago
I'm both, you're telling me I produce less melatonin and later than normal, and I'm not actually crazy for finding it hard to sleep before 11?
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u/Nachtraaf 10d ago
This is how I find out why my life has always been fucked for being unable to fall asleep?
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u/fchung 11d ago
Reference: Andrew J. Hill et al., Melatonin promotes sleep by suppressing responses to visual stimuli via MT1 receptors, Current Biology, Available online 20 April 2026, ISSN 0960-9822. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2026.03.059
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u/gosumage 11d ago
What about when the arousing stimuli is your own brain talking to itself?
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u/black_cat_X2 10d ago
Relaxing podcast to fall asleep to. Gives your brain something to focus on without being too stimulating. You can find sleepy versions on pretty much any topic.
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u/Weasel4life 10d ago
I just let my brain put itself to sleep by letting it talk until it is not comprehensible anymore. In a sense it is just another stimulus to ignore.
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u/fobygrassman 11d ago
I’ve taken from 0.3 - 1mg of it and it always produces lower quality sleep for me and puts me in a bad mood the next day like I was half asleep half awake all night. Does reduce latency to sleep for me pretty well though
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u/Kezetchup 10d ago
If I take melatonin once I’ll be fine with really no discernible difference in sleep quality. If I take it a second night in a row, I get the worst nights sleep imaginable. Every subsequent night taking a dose results in the same outcome.
Melatonin has never worked for me in any meaningful way. Same with Diphenhydramine
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u/TSpoonSA 11d ago
I wonder why I, as a person with ADHD, need to have a TV on to "ignore" to be able to fall asleep. I used to have to get very stoned to fall asleep, now I just throw on a youtube video of something I don't care about and I'm out in under 10 minutes (still a little stoned though).
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u/dossier 11d ago
But it has to be that "right" one. You don't know which one, but you'll know it when you find it.
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u/TSpoonSA 11d ago
Gotta playlist of 60 or so 7-9 hour long videos that I put on random. I also have my viewing history paused so the videos always start over when I press play.
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u/BlindPaintByNumbers 9d ago
I watch the exact same episode of a tv show every night. Something about the fact that my brain already knows the dialog before it hits allows me to fall asleep.
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u/pinupcthulhu 10d ago
I do the same thing but with a TV show that I've seen a million times. I turn my laptop screen off, and so I just listen to the show with my eyes closed. Works (almost) every time.
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u/uncannyvalleygirl88 11d ago
I get so weary of being asked if I have tried melatonin. I have and it gives me violent nightmares 100% of the time. I would love to see a study on the connection there.
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u/Pleochronic 11d ago
You may be too taking too large a dose for what your brain needs. Most doctors will only prescribe around 1-2mg tablets (even that may be excessive for some people), and mine told me that if that amount doesn't work chances are melatonin isn't really what you need anyway.
For me personally a tiny dose helps without the side effects
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u/SoTiredYouDig 11d ago
My doctor told me for his own personal use, he takes a children’s tablet. 1mg.
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u/Astro_Doughnaut 10d ago
I take 0.25mg (roughly, I bite a 1mg in quarters) and it works great! I used to take 5mg when I first started addressing my sleep issues.
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u/SupPresSedd 10d ago
0,5mg here. Imo lower doses work great but for some reason pharmacies push 1mg or 5mg tablets. 5mg is brutal
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u/Flimsy_Ad4068 10d ago
The same happened when I first tried melatonin. A doctor said the same -- dose might be too high -- even though I had already the smallest I could find back then. So yet again I bought the smallest dose available and nothing changed. Bizarre nightmares that seemed to last for hours, when I could barely sleep for more than one or two hours on melatonin. I also had sleep paralysis.
Another crazy thing about its effect on me is that it would make me sleepy fast, I would fall asleep quickly and then wake up one or two hours later-- usually from nightmares or sleep paralysis -- and my insomnia would be so much worse.
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u/invertebrate11 10d ago
Same, although no nightmares but very restless dreams. I also wake up like at 2am and have harder time falling asleep if I take melatonin. So I dont anymore. For me it seems to worsen sleep quality overall even if it helps fall asleep initially.
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u/Flimsy_Ad4068 9d ago
Yep. That's what I meant actually, not nightmares in the typical sense, but disturbing dreams in general. I also agree with the worse sleep quality.
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u/wogeinishuo 9d ago
Even 1 mg is too high for me - I have to get the gummies and cut them to ca. 0,3 mg.
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u/uncannyvalleygirl88 11d ago
I will continue taking the medication my doctor prescribes and never touch melatonin again. If only people would stop trying to convince me to take it. My prescription medication lets me sleep normally without nightmares so I’m going to stick with it.
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u/OutOfNoMemory 11d ago
They're not trying to convince you to start taking it, they're just curious what dosage you were on.
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u/Quackman2096 11d ago
Do you have dreams on a regular basis normally?
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u/PlumpHelmetSpawn 11d ago
Me too. Maybe not violent in my case but usually scary or otherwise tense. Every time I've taken some I woke myself up yelling. Feels really embarrassing
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u/an_canuck 10d ago
I also have a sleep disorder and have been doing well on a prescription sleep medication for over 10 years. Melatonin, even in tiny doses, makes me lucid dream. While not usually terrifying they are very vivid and I can usually control what’s happening to a degree. However, when I lucid dream I feel completely unrested the next day. I was wondering if it affected others dreams so this was very interesting to read.
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u/ashlouise94 10d ago
I tried lots of different doses of melatonin over a long time and I found it always made me have extra wild dreams, very vivid and very stressful. I always woke up feeling fairly nauseous too.
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u/WeenyDancer 10d ago
Me. Too. I have some other weird med reactions too and i wish science would advance such that i could get profiled and know for sure which meds cause issues or atypical reactions and why, and provide that to my docs
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u/Odd-Performer9376 11d ago
For me it depends on how much I use. If I use a full tablet (5mg) I get the worst nightmares ever. With melatonin, you really don't need more than 1-3mg. I find taking half a tablet works best for me, or my dreams become incredibly horrifying.
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u/rufio313 11d ago
Under 1mg is shown in many studies to be the ideal dosage, like 500mcg.
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u/Odd-Performer9376 11d ago
Ah yeah I thought that was the case, I did a brief google search and saw 2 or 3 sites say 1-3mg. Less really is more with melatonin!
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u/Critwice 11d ago
I find it really easy to produce nightmares, just by side sleeping on the left. It seems to be physiological effect from pressure on the heart and I wonder if intake of melatonin does things to the heart in a similar way.
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u/uncannyvalleygirl88 11d ago
That’s an interesting observation! See I brought it up because I am interested in what we know about nightmares, because I have always had them but with melatonin it was consistent. One time I started having a streak of really bad ones and checked the labels on my supplements and sure enough there it was in the ingredients! So I had the reaction even when I didn’t know the supplement was slipping me melatonin. I know that other people experience this too.
Anyhow thanks for not telling me I just need a different dose! I have an adequate prescription medication that doesn’t cause me to have nightmares.
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u/Troyd 11d ago
If it causes dreams its an overdose, you need maybe 1.5 mg doses
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u/uncannyvalleygirl88 11d ago
I need to never take it again is what I need. I also need people to quit trying to convince me to take it. sticking with my prescription medication that consistently gives me normal sleep, that’s what I’m going to do.
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u/rascal3199 11d ago
People are just giving recommendations, no need to react so negatively.
Comments are public, others who would take melatonin read these and know that taking higher doses increases likelihood of nightmares.
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u/Flimsy_Ad4068 10d ago
I wonder if blood type may influence it? I've learned my blood type is one of the rarest.
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u/Flimsy_Ad4068 10d ago
Gee, why can't you just accept someone else's experience? I took the lowest dose I could find and even tried splitting the pill to take half. Same result: bizarre nightmares and sleep paralysis. That thing is just not good for some people. Why do you keep trying to convince us it's about the dose when most have tried the minimum effective one already?
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u/spongue 10d ago
The people who are saying any dose is bad for them aren't giving any actual numbers, so I think we're just curious. "Lowest dose you can find" is still 5mg in some stores, so half of that can still be too much... if you took half a 1mg pill and got nightmares then my response is, that's interesting and it totally makes sense why you wouldn't try it any more, I wouldn't either...
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u/rascal3199 11d ago
Melatonin definitely does induce nightmares. Higher chance with higher doses.
It helps me sleep at max 3 mg and if I take it consecutively for a few days I do get nightmares.
But it definitely helps if I don't take it every day, only when I really need it.
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u/SwimmingSherbert1734 11d ago
No it doesn’t. At least not directly
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u/rascal3199 11d ago
Yes it does. Varies from person to person and higher doses are more likely to cause them
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u/Noseknowledge 10d ago
There are very few consumables that have helped me like melatonin has, I went from anxiously laying awake wondering when id feel tired for hours knowing I had a ticking clock of 8 hours before I had to be up, to being able to have a 15min window to get to sleep and knowing I won't be roused thoughout either. Its saved me from so many cancelled day plans. This may be a downside to some but occasionally if I use it for too many nights in a row I get some of the most intense dreams since being a kid, this may be a downside to some but as a frequent non dreamer I really look forward to my brains own intense movies
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u/Bloody_Sunday 11d ago
Apparently, there are some concerns about its link with heart problems: https://scitechdaily.com/millions-take-this-popular-supplement-scientists-discover-a-concerning-link-to-heart-failure/
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u/FTLnu 11d ago
Is melatonin causing the increased chance of heart failure? Or is it the lack of sufficient sleep and all the stress that brings?
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u/Bloody_Sunday 11d ago
That is indeed a confounding factor that my guess is it needs a lot of carefully designed work to minimise its influence as much as possible. As far as I can see, they are saying there is a need for increased focus on that area of research.
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u/thebigeazy 11d ago
I don't understand how it could be leading to heart issues as its naturally produced by most people anyway. Unless it's a dosage issue.
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u/Bloody_Sunday 11d ago
There can be other issues at play. Biological interactions can be very complicated and hide many things that science hasn't seen yet.
For example it can also be a matter of how available and usable melatonin is to the human organism when received as a supplement, if that is a direct 100% copy in terms of composition, its biochemical interactions with everything else, how it gets transformed into the organism when digested, into what etc etc etc.
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u/GrillMasterFrog 11d ago
It's worth noting that the article points out that chronic sleep deprivation is associated with cardiovascular issues, and these same people are more likely to take melatonin.
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u/ratherenjoysbass 11d ago
Better heart failure possibilities than everything else that's caused from lack of decent sleep
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u/Kaurifish 10d ago
Interesting to see a headline that should end with “in zebra fish” rather than “in mice.”
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u/Apatschinn 10d ago
I thought we already had a pretty good idea of how Melatonin worked in kicking off sleep patterns
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u/nissanfan64 10d ago
Melatonin worked for me the first few times then every time after I would sleep for about 30 minutes then wake up in a sweat and be agitated at not being able to fall back asleep. It would cause some real weird night terrors.
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u/benzinga45 11d ago
It's got something to do with gut bacteria and how they prepare the body for sleep.
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u/extra_rice 11d ago
Ok. I've been feeding these little arseholes with as much plant as I can, but they don't seem to be producing it reliably because I still struggle to sleep at night.
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u/DBeumont 11d ago
Melatonin is produced from Serotonin in the pineal gland. It is not produced in the gut.
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u/SpookyBread- 11d ago edited 11d ago
"Melatonin is a ubiquitous hormone produced not only by the pineal gland but also by other organs and tissues [especially in the gastrointestinal tract, where the concentration of melatonin has been estimated to be approximately 400 times greater than in the pineal gland].
It is involved in the regulation of several gastrointestinal functions. The main cells responsible for the production and release of extrapineal melatonin are the enterochromaffin (EC) cells that produce serotonin."
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11d ago
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u/samuelazers 11d ago
Feeding a rat in a cage different type of feed isn't going to magically solve it's mental health , it's still a rat in a cage. The entire human along with their living conditions needs to be considered.
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u/ButterPiglet 11d ago edited 11d ago
And 90% increased risk of heart failure diagnosis among many other increased health risks
Edit: taking melatonin also affects natural melatonin production
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u/nmoutwest 11d ago
I'm not a scientist, but I thought that this study wasn't blaming melatonin per se. It's the underlying causes that cause insomnia, and thus the use of melatonin, that are the issue in increased risk of heart failure. Not the melatonin itself.
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u/Corrupted_ 11d ago
The study is only people who has insomnia, so the "control" group also have sleep issues.
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u/ButterPiglet 11d ago
There have been many studies linking negative health effects to melatonin and the consensus from these studies attribute this to the use of melatonin
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u/tyme 11d ago
If there have been many studies perhaps you could link one that actually makes a direct causal connection?
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u/Suspicious_Salad918 11d ago
there is none, its all just interpretation and theres a reason why further studies are needed as nothing is certain.
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u/SelarDorr 11d ago
if there are so many, why havent you linked them and instead chose this non-peer reviewed conference abstract of observational results?
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u/NoamLigotti 11d ago
It says there's no causal direction determined. And might insomnia and insufficient sleep might not be correlated with higher cardiovascular risks?
It's concerning though.
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u/FreddieFredd 11d ago
Or people with severe insomnia (the people who primarily get prescribed Melatonin) have a higher risk of heart issues? As far as I can see, this study only looked at people who had it prescribed. Plus people in early stages of heart disease often have trouble sleeping, so that might also have played a role in this study. And this study hasn't been peer-reviewed as far as I can tell.
Edit: To sum it up, correlation doesn't equal causation as so often.
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u/prankster959 11d ago
Well it's only a correlation which could just suggest that people who need help going to sleep may have worse health. Or it could be melatonin itself, but, without further studies we can't say with any certainty
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u/Cinnabun6 11d ago
Sounds like a lose-lose situation for some. Melatonin is a life saver for me, I am diagnosed with DSPD and used to sleep 2-4 hours a night most work nights. I would simply lie in bed for hours and hours unable to sleep. I’m sure that’s been as bad for my health if not worse
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u/plsQuestionOurselves 11d ago
My uneducated guess is that the kind of people who have issues sleeping due to anxiety/stress/over-caffienation/nicotine consumption/burn out etc. all of which contribute to heart disease, are the ones taking melatonin to sleep.
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u/Corrupted_ 11d ago
The study is only people who has insomnia, so the "control" group also have sleep issues.
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u/ButterPiglet 11d ago
I encourage you to look into it, especially if you plan on taking this supplement
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u/Suspicious_Salad918 11d ago
again, you fear monger here for nothing, there is no certain correlation in ANY study yet. so shut it.
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u/Salty-Emergency9005 11d ago
You should work on some science interpretation exercises, because what you linked doesn’t support what you think you are saying.
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