میلاٹونن ·
Mixed evidence
A body-clock signal, not a sleeping pill — and sleep is often the thread worth pulling.
This is information, not medical advice. This page is information, not medical advice. Nothing here is a prescription, a diagnosis or a recommendation to take anything, and none of it replaces a doctor who knows your history. Supplements are not harmless because they are natural: they interact with prescription medicines, some are unsafe in pregnancy, and a few can cause real damage. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist before starting anything here, especially if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, under 18, have a liver, kidney or heart condition, or take any regular medication. Never stop a prescribed antidepressant to try a supplement instead.
A hormone the brain releases in the evening to signal night. Sold over the counter in many countries and prescription-only in the UK.
Good evidence for shifting the body clock - jet lag, shift work, delayed sleep phase - and modest evidence for falling asleep faster. It is not a sedative and does not knock you out. There is some evidence it reduces anxiety before surgery. It does not treat depression, but where broken sleep is feeding low mood, fixing the clock is a real lever.
Trials often use 0.5 to 3 mg an hour or two before the target bedtime. More is not better here; low doses taken at the right time outperform high doses at the wrong time.
Recorded because a person who has decided to try something will find a number somewhere, and a forum's number is worse than a trial's. It is not a recommendation, and the right amount for you depends on things only a doctor who knows your history can weigh.
Grogginess, vivid dreams and headache. Avoid before driving at night. Care with blood thinners, epilepsy medicines and immunosuppressants. Not established in pregnancy or for long-term use in children without specialist advice.
Sold over the counter here, unlike the UK. Take it with light exposure in mind - a bright phone screen at midnight undoes most of what the tablet is trying to do.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist about everything else you take, prescription and herbal both. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, under 18, or have a liver, kidney, heart or thyroid condition, ask first. And if what brought you here is that you have been feeling low or frightened for weeks, that deserves more than a supplement — ask us anything, anonymously, or talk to us on WhatsApp.