Sleep is very important for your physical health and wellbeing. If you’re not getting enough sleep, you’re putting yourself at risk for some serious health problems. If you do not get enough sleep, it can increase your hunger and affect how well you do when you work out. You may not want to go to the gym, and you may feel tired before you even start your workout.
Melatonin is a hormone that is naturally made by the body. It helps to regulate the body’s sleep cycle. Some research suggests that melatonin supplements may help improve the quality of your sleep by making it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep. There are many different types of over-the-counter sleep aids available, including capsules, spray, gummies, liquid, and tablets. You should always speak to your healthcare provider before taking melatonin for any reason.
Our top choices for the best melatonin supplements to help you get the sleep you need are:
The 8 Best Melatonin Supplements of 2022
Best Overall: Nature Made Melatonin 3mg Tablets
What do buyers say? The majority of Amazon reviewers rated this product 4 stars or above.
The best melatonin supplement is Nature Made Melatonin because it meets all the requirements. The natural acting sleep aid tablets are not expensive, made with good ingredients, and easy to swallow. The USP Verification Mark on a product guarantees that the contents of the product are accurate, it was made using FDA-compliant Good Manufacturing Practices, and it does not contain any harmful contaminants. The supplement does not contain any added colors, preservatives, artificial flavors, or gluten.
There are 120 days’ worth of 3-milligram melatonin tablets in each bottle. Most people can safely take melatonin supplements for a short period of time, but there is no data on what effect it has in the long term. Nature Made suggests taking a pill with water an hour before going to sleep.
Best Budget: Nature’s Bounty Quick Dissolve Melatonin
These 3-milligram tablets are a favorite budget pick. You’ll receive hundreds of tablets for significantly less money than other brands, but they’re just as effective at promoting sleep. The tablets that dissolve quickly are perfect for travel, as they can be taken without water.
The vegetarian supplements have a delicious natural cherry flavor that tastes great and doesn’t leave an unpleasant taste in your mouth. Nature’s Bounty is dedicated to creating supplements with clinically studied ingredients that are backed by lab testing. The tabs do not contain sodium, sugar, starch, milk, lactose, soy, gluten, yeast, or fish.
Best Hypoallergenic: Pure Encapsulations Melatonin 3 mg
If you’re looking for a hypoallergenic supplement, Pure Encapsulations is usually the best option because it is free of common allergens. The melatonin capsules that are certified gluten-free, non-GMO, and vegan are no exception. Pure Encapsulations products are free of common allergens, artificial colors and sweeteners, and other unnecessary ingredients.
Each capsule provides 3-milligrams of melatonin to help you sleep more soundly.
Best Tablet: Natrol Melatonin Advanced Sleep Tablets
A good melatonin tablet is easy to swallow, has no flavor, and is time-released to ensure you get a good night’s sleep. Natrol has created a melatonin tablet that allows for an initial quick dose to help you fall asleep and then a steady release of melatonin to help you sleep through the night.
Each vegetarian tablet of Plus contains 10 milligrams of vitamin B6, which is a complementary nutrient involved in producing serotonin, a neurotransmitter that induces sleep. Some studies suggest that vitamin B6 may help to increase melatonin production, although research on this is mixed.
Best Lozenges: Source Naturals Sleep Science Melatonin 1 mg
If you don’t like swallowing pills, a lozenge is a good alternative. This product from Source Naturals dissolves quickly and comes in an orange flavor. It contains 1 milligram of melatonin. To use, put the lozenge in your mouth at night before you go to sleep and let it dissolve.
The lozenges do not contain any ingredients that come from animals, so they can be consumed by vegetarians. In addition, the lozenges do not contain yeast, dairy, eggs, gluten, soy, or wheat. They do not contain any sugar, however, they are sweetened with sorbitol and mannitol, two sugar alcohols that may cause gastric distress in some individuals.
Unlike other sleep aids, melatonin supplements don’t tend to be habit-forming. No matter how much melatonin you take or for how long, it will have the same effect on the quality of your sleep.
Best Gummies: MegaFood Melatonin Berry Good Sleep Gummies
Gummy supplements are an easy way to get the vitamins and nutrients you need, especially for people who have trouble swallowing whole pills. They are also flavorful, which makes them more enjoyable to take. Megafood’s Melatonin Berry Good Sleep Gummies are very popular and taste great. They also have a powerful form of melatonin that can help you sleep better at night. One serving of two berry-flavored gummies contains 3 milligrams of melatonin.
These melatonin chews that have been verified by the Non-GMO Project get an extra boost from the addition of organic tart cherry and wild blueberry, making them a sleep supplement that is supercharged. Some studies have found that cherry juice containing high levels of melatonin may improve sleep quality and length in healthy adults. Wild blueberries are great for improving sleep and reducing inflammation.
Take two Megafood gummies 20-30 minutes before bed.
Best Capsule: Now Foods Melatonin 5 mg
If you want to get the benefits of melatonin but you don’t like flavoured or dissolvable supplements, capsules are the best option. The capsules from NOW Supplement are easy to swallow and contain 5 milligrams of sleep-promoting melatonin.
The supplement received a certification from the NPA meaning that every aspect of the manufacturing process, including lab and testing methods, meet a high level of quality standards.
NOW recommends taking one capsule of their product around bedtime with water to help improve sleep quality.
Best Liquid: Pure Encapsulations Melatonin Liquid
Pure Encapsulations’ liquid melatonin supplement can help you sleep better and is quick and easy to take. This liquid is easy to dispense and allows you to control how much you take. It is also non-GMO. One dropper (1ml) of this product contains 2.5mg of melatonin, as well as a delicious natural flavouring of apple and blackcurrant.
The liquid tastes great and is made with hypoallergenic, vegetarian ingredients that are certified gluten-free. This product is sugar-free and its sweetness come from stevia.
Benefits
Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone which your body uses to regulate its sleeping and waking cycles. Melatonin is a hormone that helps to regulate sleep. It is found in many sleep aids, and taking it in supplement form can help you to feel sleepy and improve the quality of your sleep.
If falling asleep or staying asleep is a problem for you, especially as you get older, you may want to try taking a melatonin supplement.
The science of how melatonin affects sleep patterns is complex, but in general, melatonin supplements can help regulate the body’s natural sleep cycle.
In a human in a “state of nature” – with no artificial lights or rapid international travel – melatonin would be consistently and reliably produced at the onset of darkness. The level of melatonin in your blood rises when it gets dark, which makes you feel sleepy.
Of course, things aren’t this simple with modern humans. We tend to stay up late at night with artificial lights on and often travel through many time zones, which can disrupt our natural body clock.
Natural melatonin production decreases as you age. Some researchers think that this is the reason why many old people can’t sleep. Modulating melatonin levels by taking a supplement at the appropriate time of day corrects this.
A 2001 study investigated whether melatonin supplementation can help with age-related insomnia. A team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology examined sleep quality in fifteen subjects over 50 years old who had insomnia and poor sleep efficiency. The research team found that the sleep quality of the subjects significantly improved after they participated in a four-week clinical trial of acupuncture.
The researchers took 3 groups of people and gave them different doses of melatonin to take half an hour before bed every day for a week. The doses were 0.1 mg, 0.3 mg, and 3 mg. The study found that a lower dose had the best effect on sleep efficiency, especially the 0.3mg dosage in the middle of the night. This also restored melatonin levels in the blood to their normal values.
The 3 mg dose improved sleep efficiency and caused blood levels of melatonin to remain elevated during the day. This could have induced grogginess. The researchers noted that those who did not have age-related insomnia did not experience any changes in sleep quality, even though they had low melatonin levels.
Some people’s bodies may be able to adapt to lower physiological levels of melatonin and still get quality sleep; these people probably would not need a melatonin supplement.
Melatonin can also help you deal with jet lag. When you travel and cross numerous time zones, you may experience jet lag. Heading eastbound can be especially bad. A review by A. Herxheimer and K.J. Petrie looked at evidence from ten studies on melatonin for treating or preventing jet lag.
The researchers found that melatonin was very effective at treating and preventing jet lag if you take it close to your target bedtime when you arrived at your destination. The greater the number of time zones crossed on a trip, the greater the benefit. The same is true for eastbound trips.
taking melatonin at the wrong time of day can make your jet lag worse. You should take it within half an hour of bedtime.
Melatonin can improve sleep in healthy adults. Even if you aren’t jet-lagged or reaching old age, sleep can be disturbed. People who take melatonin report better sleep quality. A 1996 study by M.E.J. Attenburrow, P.J. Cowen, and A.L. An experiment was conducted by Sharpley at Littlemore Hospital in the United Kingdom to study the impact of melatonin on the sleep quality of middle-aged volunteers.
In the study, the authors tested the effects of two doses of melatonin on brain waves and eye movements during sleep. They found that melatonin had no significant effect on brain activity or sleep quality. The subjects also underwent similar experiments using a placebo.
According to the research, melatonin supplements caused an increase in total sleep time, an increase in non-REM sleep, and an improvement in “sleep efficiency”. Sleeping efficiently means that you will feel rested and alert the next day.
Side effects
One of melatonin’s main attractions is that it has very few side effects. A large review found that melatonin is safe to use for a few weeks to a few months. The only major side effect is sleepiness and grogginess when it is taken at the wrong time of day. Even at extremely high doses, melatonin does not seem to cause any additional negative effects.
Although some reports claim that melatonin should not be taken by those with epilepsy or blood thinners, you should speak to your doctor before making any decisions.
Recommended dosage
Interestingly, melatonin has a wide range of effective doses. As little as 0.3 milligrams of the substance has been effective at improving sleep quality in the studies mentioned.
A Cochrane review of studies on melatonin for jet lag found that doses of 0.5 mg to 5 mg were equally effective in almost every respect. The only difference was that doses of 5 mg seemed to induce sleep more rapidly than doses of 0.5 mg. Doses above 5 mg do not seem to have any benny fits.
While slow release doses appear to be more effective for insomnia, jet lag appears to be the opposite: it appears that a short but steep increase in blood melatonin levels is all it takes to help reset your biological clock once. A slow release formula might be more appropriate for people who have issues staying asleep instead of falling asleep. This type of formula allows for a more gradual release of the active ingredients, which can help people stay asleep for a longer period of time.
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