Melatonin: Most People Take Ten Times Too Much

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland that signals "biological night" to the rest of the body. It is sold over the counter in many countries (and is prescription-only in much of the EU and UK), often at doses ten to twenty times higher than what the pineal gland actually produces. That mismatch is the single most useful thing to understand about it.

What it does

Melatonin is primarily a circadian signal, not a sedative. Its strongest evidence is for shifting sleep timing (jet lag, shift work, delayed sleep phase) rather than for forcing sleep at a normal bedtime. It also has antioxidant properties at higher doses, though clinical relevance varies by context.

Typical protocol shape

Two distinct use cases, two different shapes:

• For circadian shifting: very small doses (often 0.3 to 0.5 mg) taken several hours before the desired sleep time
• For occasional sleep onset: small doses 30 to 60 minutes before bed

The common mistake is taking 5 to 10 mg at bedtime, which floods receptors and often produces grogginess the next morning without improving sleep architecture.

What to track daily

• Time of dose
• Dose in mg (be precise; many gummies are imprecisely labeled)
• Time you fell asleep, as best you can estimate
• Wake time
• Morning grogginess on a 1 to 5 scale
• Vivid dreams, which often increase with melatonin

What to track weekly

• Average sleep duration
• Average sleep latency
• Sleep regularity (variance in bed and wake times)
• Subjective daytime energy
• Mood, since high-dose melatonin can blunt morning alertness

Bloodwork worth doing

Bloodwork is rarely needed for melatonin specifically. If you are using it long term and have unexplained fatigue, a thyroid panel and morning cortisol are reasonable.

Realistic expectations

For jet lag eastward, small evening doses for a few days are well supported. For shift work, modest benefit. For "I want to sleep better tonight," melatonin is usually less effective than people expect, and the dose-response curve is not linear: more is not better, and is often worse.

Common mistakes

• Taking 5 to 10 mg when 0.3 to 1 mg would work better
• Taking it at bedtime when the goal is to shift sleep earlier
• Combining with bright screens, which suppresses the signal you just supplemented
• Using nightly indefinitely without re-evaluating
• Trusting gummy dosing labels without verification

A tracking template

In Peptide IA, log dose and time in the evening entry, then sleep latency and morning grogginess the next day. The pattern usually appears within two weeks: most people find a lower dose works at least as well as their starting dose.

Bottom line

Melatonin is a useful circadian tool used precisely, and a sleep-quality liability used carelessly. The dose almost always wants to be smaller than you think.

Peptide IA is an educational and self-tracking tool. Nothing in this post is medical advice. Doses mentioned reflect what is commonly reported in research literature — they are not recommendations. Always consult a qualified physician before starting, changing, or stopping any protocol.