Melatonin: The wonder pill for sleep you still can't get hold of

Telegraph

2 days ago

The desperation that comes with a bout of poor sleep is like nothing else. Brain fog, extreme fatigue and constant irritability are all traits of the regularly underslept. In the long term, so are obesity, high blood pressure and low mood – and we're increasingly aware of it. Scarcely more than a third of us say that the amount of sleep we get each night is 'good', a recent survey from Nuffield Health suggests.
Enter melatonin, the seemingly natural supplement with the promise to cure this very modern ailment. Melatonin is the hormone that our own brains produce to send us off to sleep each night. Your body naturally produces less melatonin as you age, with the process beginning around the age of 40 and escalates dramatically after 70.
In its synthetic form, filled into little white capsules or mixed into gummies, melatonin is available in supermarkets and on Amazon in the United States. It's also prescribed in Britain to people aged over 55 who have insomnia, and to children with ADHD or autism who struggle to sleep. Plenty more of us take melatonin occasionally for jet lag, even though you can't buy it over the counter in this country.
'When I see someone in clinic who is taking melatonin, the majority of the time, they've obtained it in this way rather than having been prescribed it,' says Dr Alanna Hare, a consultant in sleep and ventilation at Royal Brompton Hospital. There is a thriving middle-class black market for melatonin, which is legal to bring over from other countries or buy from online pharmacies, provided you don't sell it on.
Dr Hare has 'no doubt' that the desperate parents of children awaiting diagnoses for ADHD or autism find melatonin for them in this way too. Dr Cassie Coleman, a consultant paediatrician with a specialism in neurodiversity and child mental health, agrees. 'It's very common for parents to present at my clinic and tell me, with a huge amount of guilt, that they've accessed melatonin and are giving it to their children who either have ADHD or autism or are awaiting a diagnosis,' she says.
'Many parents are given some melatonin by their friends who also have neurodivergent children, after expressing just how exhausted they feel. Having a child who struggles to sleep can really upend family life, and it's often a massive source of anxiety and frustration for the child themselves too.'
When it comes to the effects of melatonin for families, 'the word 'life changing' is common,' says Dr Coleman. Melatonin supplements are considered 'very safe' to take, physically speaking, says sleep expert Dr Sophie Bostock. But while many people swear by it to help them drift off at night, research suggests that unless you have a specific sleep disorder, melatonin pills or chews are little more than placebo. So what's the truth about this highly sought-after sleep aid?
What is melatonin?
Melatonin is one of many hormones produced in your brain, with hormones being chemical messengers that signal different parts of your body to carry out different hormones. Specifically, melatonin is produced by the pineal gland, a tiny pinecone-shaped node (hence the name) that sits right in the middle of your brain. Other parts of the body like the eyes, skin and gut also produce some melatonin, but far less than is made by your pineal gland.