A 2023 research letter in JAMA (Journal of The American Medical Association) and 2017 study in JCSM (Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine) highlighted serious issues with over-the-counter melatonin quality*.
One melatonin gummy was found to contain 347% more melatonin than what the label claimed.
That’s enough to make anyone pause.
It has definitely changed the way I recommend melatonin to patients.
But as I explain in this week’s video, the full story is more nuanced, and perhaps not quite as alarming, as the headlines suggest.
In this 10-minute episode (Part 1 of a 3-part series on melatonin), I unpack what every clinician needs to know about melatonin safety, including:
- Why melatonin isn’t a sedative
- What the JAMA and JCSM studies actually found
- How to interpret dose variability and brand differences
- What the research says about short, moderate, and long-term safety
- My clinical take on when to use it…and when to rethink it
I also share a patient story that illustrates how melatonin, when used correctly, can retrain the circadian rhythm instead of becoming a nightly crutch.
If you’ve ever had a patient ask whether melatonin is “safe,” or wondered how to approach it in your own prescribing, invest 10 minutes of your time in this high yield video.
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*References:
Cohen PA, Avula B, Wang YH, Katragunta K, Khan I. Quantity of Melatonin and CBD in Melatonin Gummies Sold in the US. JAMA. 2023 Apr 25;329(16):1401-1402. doi: 10.1001/jama.2023.2296. PMID: 37097362; PMCID: PMC10130950.
Erland LA, Saxena PK. Melatonin Natural Health Products and Supplements: Presence of Serotonin and Significant Variability of Melatonin Content. J Clin Sleep Med. 2017 Feb 15;13(2):275-281. doi: 10.5664/jcsm.6462. PMID: 27855744; PMCID: PMC5263083.
