Melatonin
Melatonin is a hormone synthesized by the pineal gland in response to diminishing light exposure, serving as the body's primary signal for sleep onset. It plays a central role in regulating circadian rhythm and has additional properties as an endogenous antioxidant. While the body produces it naturally, supplemental melatonin is widely used for sleep support and jet lag recovery.
Expert Evidence
39 references from 4 experts
“Personally, I take around 300 micrograms of melatonin, which is just enough to match the levels naturally produced by the body. For melatonin to work properly, it's critical to take it about 2 hours before wanting to fall asleep.”
5 Supplements with STRONG Evidence of Benefit
23:0821 references in 13 episodes from 2022–2025
Brad Stanfield regularly takes low-dose melatonin (300 micrograms) as part of his sleep routine and consistently recommends it as a chronobiotic agent to help fall asleep faster, but cautions against high doses due to lack of long-term safety data.
Consumption
He takes 300 micrograms of melatonin regularly as part of his sleep supplement, approximately 2 hours before wanting to fall asleep.
Benefits
Meta-analyses show melatonin reduces sleep latency (time to fall asleep) and improves sleep quality.
Best Practices
Take no more than 300 micrograms (matching the body's natural production), 1-2 hours before bed so it can act as a chronobiotic to shift the sleep-wake cycle; higher doses show no additional benefit.
Cautions
Long-term safety data is lacking for high doses of melatonin over 5 milligrams per day.
“I take 3 milligrams of melatonin. It helps with my night terrors. I was even doing higher than that, but I was able to wean it down to the lowest minimum effective dose which was 3 milligrams.”
Rhonda Patrick's EXACT Supplement Routine (doses, timing, & brands revealed)
2:583 references in 2 episodes from 2019–2025
Rhonda Patrick takes 3 mg of melatonin nightly for night terrors, having weaned down from a higher dose to her minimum effective dose. She views melatonin positively as an antioxidant that protects eggs and brain tissue, and does not find it addicting. She also discusses its role in pancreatic insulin signaling and blood glucose regulation, though no cautions about supplementation were noted.
“I personally do not recommend supplementing melatonin because it's supplemented typically at very high levels. One to three milligrams or even more is an outrageously high dose that is super physiological compared to what you normally would make. It also has potentially negative effects on the reproductive axis and hormones.”
Tools for Managing Stress & Anxiety
1:18:1913 references in 9 episodes from 2021–2025
Huberman strongly recommends against melatonin supplementation for most people, citing supraphysiological dosages in commercial supplements, negative effects on reproductive hormones (testosterone and estrogen), and concerns about puberty suppression in children. He acknowledges a narrow exception for elderly individuals with disrupted melatonin secretion and notes potential benefits of microgram-level doses for deep sleep, but has no evidence of personal use.
Benefits
Melatonin may be worthwhile for elderly individuals whose natural melatonin secretion has become chaotic, helping them fall and stay asleep.
Best Practices
If used at all, microgram doses (around 500 micrograms) may improve slow-wave deep sleep and growth hormone release, whereas typical commercial doses of 1-12 milligrams are supraphysiological and excessive.
Cautions
Most supplements contain doses far exceeding natural production (often 100-fold higher). Melatonin suppresses gonadotropin-releasing hormone, inhibiting testosterone and estrogen. It suppresses puberty onset in children, and Huberman specifically warns against giving it to kids, whose melatonin is already chronically elevated. It induces sleepiness but doesn't maintain sleep, and supplement labels are often inaccurate.
“Effective dose for me honestly is 1 milligram, but anything over three has a ceiling effect. We've seen a lot of people with recommendations of five to ten, but one would be about the high end.”
Dr. Allison Brager: Improve Sleep Efficiency & Resilience
1:38:542 references in 1 episode
Galpin recommends no more than 1-3mg of melatonin, noting a ceiling effect above 3mg, and warns against higher doses (5-10mg) commonly recommended elsewhere. He cautions that excessive melatonin can cause sedation without improving deep restorative sleep, citing cases where removing melatonin resolved years of sleep issues. No evidence of personal use beyond mentioning 1mg as his effective dose.
Side Effects
- Daytime grogginess or sedation
- Vivid dreams or nightmares
- Headache
- Possible disruption of natural hormone rhythms with chronic high-dose use
$0.04/ct
$10.00 total
$0.05/ct
$8.70 total
$0.07/ct
$8.98 total
$0.07/ct
$16.03 total
$0.13/ct
$12.99 total
$0.38/ct
$22.74 total