Expert Answer
How much melatonin should you take?
By Arun Agrahri Last reviewed 2 timecoded sources
Quick Answer
Low, if at all. Around 0.3-1mg, not the 3-10mg sold in most stores. Your body makes only ~0.1-0.3mg a night, so Huberman calls the commercial doses supra-physiological. He cautions against melatonin for most healthy adults and reaches for magnesium, apigenin and theanine. Save it for jet lag, shift work or older adults.
Moderate Consensus
on Melatonin overall
What the Panel Says
Cautions against melatonin for most healthy adults. It is a hormone. Common 3-10mg doses run supra-physiological, and the evidence shows it adds only a few minutes of sleep. Prefers magnesium threonate (145mg), apigenin (50mg) and theanine.
“the amount of melatonin has been tested for various brands, it can range anywhere from being 15% of what's listed on the bottle, okay, so if they list this as 100 milligrams, it would be a tremendously high dose, it turns out it's only 15 milligrams in that particular pill or capsule, or up to 400 times more than what's listed on the bottle, so it's completely unregulated”
Andrew Huberman, on the record @ 21:57
Treats melatonin as a last resort after sleep hygiene, and keeps the dose low if it comes to that. Says its job is signaling nighttime, not sedation.
Focuses on endogenous melatonin and warns that taking it (or eating) late impairs glucose control, since melatonin signals the pancreas to cut insulin; favors protecting natural production over supplementing.
“before bed our bodies naturally start to produce melatonin around 2 to 3 hours before we go to sleep melatonin has been shown to bind to receptors on the pancreas and this signals to the pancreas to stop producing insulin”
Rhonda Patrick, on the record @ 01:23
Takes melatonin nightly before bed in his Blueprint protocol based on his team's evidence review - but does not specify the dose in analyzed videos.
The most favorable - recommends melatonin for circadian reset and jet lag, though he likewise doesn't pin a specific sleep dose.
Detailed Answer
Start with the number. Your body makes about 0.1-0.3mg of melatonin a night. Most store bottles sell 3, 5 or 10mg.
Huberman flags this again and again. Commercial doses run supra-physiological, often 10-30x what your body makes. In healthy adults, he says the evidence shows melatonin adds only a few minutes of total sleep. So the experts who are open to it lean low, roughly 0.3-1mg.
Melatonin is also the most divisive supplement we track, at 2.8 out of 5. Huberman cautions against it for most healthy adults because it is a hormone with endocrine effects. He reaches for magnesium threonate (145mg), apigenin (50mg) and L-theanine instead.
Attia treats it as a last resort, after sleep hygiene. Patrick adds a metabolic caveat. Melatonin signals the pancreas to cut insulin.
A late dose hurts glucose control, and so does a late meal.
Melatonin earns its place in situations, not in a nightly habit. Jet lag. Shift work. Older adults whose own production has fallen off. Huberman concedes the elderly may benefit. Johnson and Hyman are the two who use it more freely, and Johnson takes it nightly in Blueprint. Neither pins an exact sleep dose in the videos we analyzed.
So start at 0.3-1mg and use it when the situation calls for it. Protect your own melatonin first, with morning sunlight and dark evenings.
Related Questions
Is 10mg of melatonin too much?
Likely more than you need. The body makes ~0.1-0.3mg nightly and Huberman calls common 3-10mg doses supra-physiological; experts open to melatonin favor ~0.3-1mg.
Does Huberman recommend melatonin?
No. He cautions against it for most healthy adults and uses magnesium threonate, apigenin and theanine instead. He reserves low-dose melatonin mainly for the elderly.
When is melatonin actually worth taking?
For jet lag, shift work and older adults with declining natural production. For everyday sleep the panel puts morning light, dark evenings and behavioral tools first.
Can you take melatonin every night?
Long-term nightly use in healthy adults has limited safety data and Huberman advises against it. Johnson does take it nightly, but he's the outlier on our panel.
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