Melatonin Misconceptions
Correcting the three most common misunderstandings about this popular dietary supplement.
Melatonin supplements are currently widely available in the United States without a prescription and in many delivery forms: capsules, tablets, fast-dissolve tablets, gummies, and liquids. Marketed in the United States to both adults and children as a safe and natural sleep aid, melatonin supplements and the mechanism by which they induce drowsiness in humans do not yet seem to be fully understood by general consumers. Additionally, more long-term studies of melatonin’s effects are needed, particularly in the area of pediatrics.
Michael Grandner, PhD, MTR, CBSM, FAASM, assistant professor of psychiatry and director, Sleep and Health Research Program, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, calls melatonin supplements “quite safe, especially compared with sleeping medications.” However, the United States “may be the only developed country in which melatonin is sold as a supplement without a prescription,” he adds.
Melatonin-supplement users will want to weigh their pros and cons and make sure they don’t fall for three common misconceptions regarding melatonin supplements.
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