Claudio Sericano
IT IS sometimes referred to as the Dracula hormone because it emerges at night and lays low during the day. But most of us know it as melatonin, a hormone that has become intimately connected in our minds with nightfall and sleep. In the US, where melatonin supplements are available over the counter, millions of adults take them regularly to tackle insomnia, jet lag and night shifts. Thousands more dole out melatonin “gummies” to their children to help them sleep through the night. In the UK, melatonin is available on prescription for the short-term treatment of insomnia in people aged 55 and over and for jet lag.
A huge group, then, believes melatonin is the answer to its sleep problems. So, you may be surprised to hear that nearly a quarter of a century ago, researchers writing in the journal Cell cautioned against “melatonin madness”. “Melatonin’s [sleep-inducing] capability has… been embellished,” they wrote. “The cure for melatonin madness is to ignore the hyperbole and histrionics and focus instead on hypothesis testing and sound science.”
It seems that few people listened to the warnings. In the US, melatonin use increased five-fold between 1999 and 2018 and recent news stories have reported increasing accidental ingestion of melatonin – the hormone accounted for 1 in 20 ingestions among children and young adults under 19 years of age reported to the US National Poison Data System in 2021.
Where does the truth lie? Can melatonin really improve our sleep? Emerging research suggests we have misunderstood its effect on our body and brain. So who should really be taking it, and what are the risks? …
