Does Melatonin Help You Stay Asleep Once You’re Already Snoozing?

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.

Sleep is essential for human function, but unfortunately, getting adequate shut-eye doesn’t come easily for all people. The good news is that these folks can try various interventions to help snag better sleep, including taking melatonin supplements. But even if the supplement can function as a helpful nudge to the body to drift off in the first place, will melatonin help you stay asleep once you’re out?

Here, learn about melatonin, how it may support sleep in supplement form, and whether or not it can actually help you stay asleep once you’re out.

What Is Melatonin?

First things first, let’s get clear on the definition of melatonin. You may not be alone if you think it’s a sleep aid that can help with navigating a bout of insomnia — but that’s a huge oversimplification. In actuality, melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone your brain creates to help regulate your sleep-wake cycle, aka your circadian rhythm. In plain English, this hormone lets your body know when it’s time to go to sleep and when it’s time to wake up.

But don’t get too excited too quickly. There are a few things you need to know about melatonin, particularly with regard to whether it can help you stay asleep once you’re out.

How Do Melatonin Supplements Work?

Contrary to popular belief, melatonin supplements are not a sedative, meaning taking one right when you want to go to sleep likely won’t yield the desired results. Rather, these supplements are a synthetic form of the hormone your body produces to signal that it’s time to sleep.

Notably, less is more with melatonin supplements. Though it’s available in doses up to 10 milligrams (mg), it’s best to start smaller, between 1 and 3 mg per night, to decrease the risk of adverse side effects.

Can Melatonin Help You Stay Asleep?

The American Academy of Family Physicians recognizes melatonin as the first-line pharmacological therapy to treat insomnia, which is a sleep disorder characterized by an inability to sleep. By definition, insomnia refers to not only having trouble falling asleep but also difficulty staying asleep until a desired wake time.

So, it stands to reason that yes, melatonin supplements may be able to help you stay asleep.

However, melatonin is not a replacement for maintaining a healthy sleeping environment. Even if you take this supplement to support a healthy sleep routine, it’s still important to avoid stimulating activities before bed; keep the lights dim for one to two hours before bed; and sleep in a cool, quiet, dark room.

Is Melatonin Safe to Use?

Just because melatonin is a natural hormone that your body produces doesn’t mean that it’s safe to take in supplement form in any amount on a long-term basis, as doing so may connect to adverse effects. Importantly, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate supplements, including melatonin. The FDA also doesn’t approve melatonin for safety or efficacy.

In light of this lack of oversight, it’s possible that the information on your melatonin bottle doesn’t match what the supplement actually contains. For instance, research has indicated that melatonin gummies may contain a higher concentration of the supplement than the label indicates.

Knowing this, it’s crucial to only take the smallest dose that is effective for you, and avoid taking the supplement on a long-term basis. See a doctor if sleep problems continue after a few weeks. Additionally, stop taking melatonin if you develop side effects, like headaches, nausea, drowsiness, dizziness, depression, tremors, low blood pressure, and reduced alertness.

Melatonin might be natural, but the oral supplement can trigger side effects and interact with certain drugs — like blood thinners and epilepsy medications, among others — so consult your doctor before starting a regimen.

Also, exercise caution if you’re pregnant. Melatonin’s effects on an unborn or nursing baby are unclear, so only take the supplement under a doctor’s supervision.

Ultimately, melatonin isn’t a sleeping pill. While the supplement may provide the desired results, you shouldn’t take it nightly for too long to help you stay asleep.

The Takeaway

• Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone that your body produces to signal that it’s time to wind down for sleep.
• People who experience sleep disorders like insomnia or otherwise don’t naturally produce enough melatonin may benefit from taking a small amount in the form of a synthetic supplement, in order to help them fall asleep and stay asleep.
• The FDA doesn’t regulate supplements like melatonin with the same level of oversight as it does with prescription drugs. It’s important to take the smallest dose of melatonin that’s effective for you and not to take it for a sustained period of time, given the lack of long-term research.