By Arun AgrahriLast reviewed 4 timecoded sources
Short answer
Probably less than you take now, says the one counted source, though one source cannot fix a dose. It puts the range at about 0.1 to 3 mg, says 10 or 20 mg is more than the body would ever release itself, and says to get below five. Precis has read no studies on this claim yet.
Melatonin is worth taking for sleep.
The verdict on Melatonin overall. 13 sources: 3 positive, 9 partly, 1 negative
positive partly neutral negative Each researcher and each study counts once per claim, however often they come up.
0.3 to 1 mg of melatonin is enough, far below the 3 to 10 mg doses sold in stores.
1 source: 1 partly. Fewer than 3 sources so far.
Researchers say
1 partly
Matthew Walker, 2 mentions on this claim
Partly Video
on The Dr. Hyman Show, at 1:15:10 · partly
“you're taking maybe 10 20 milligrams get below five 10 20 that's a super physiological dose melatonin”
on The Diary Of A CEO, at 24:17 · partly
“Somewhere between probably about 0.1 to 3 millig.”
Studies show
No study counted yet.
Matthew Walker Video · partly · 2 mentions
on The Dr. Hyman Show, at 1:15:10 · partly · Opinion
“you're taking maybe 10 20 milligrams get below five 10 20 that's a super physiological dose melatonin”
on The Diary Of A CEO, at 24:17 · partly · Opinion
“Somewhere between probably about 0.1 to 3 millig.”
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The claim rests on one counted source, Matthew Walker, speaking as a guest on two shows, and he backs it in part. Nine other mentions sit on the claim without being counted, mostly because the speaker or the stance was unclear. Precis has not read any studies on this claim yet.
Asked on The Diary of a CEO what dose to take, Walker says somewhere between about 0.1 and 3 mg. On Mark Hyman's show he says people are probably taking too much, maybe 10 or 20 mg, and should get below five. He calls 10 or 20 mg a super physiological dose, one the body would never release itself, and says no one yet knows what that does.
Walker calls melatonin wonderfully helpful for jet lag, if the timing is right. He also names a circadian rhythm disorder in which people can't get sleepy until the early hours. On Hyman's show he says it may work better for older people.
For younger people without jet lag, he cites a meta-analysis, not counted here, in which it sped up falling asleep by only a few minutes.
Andrew Huberman, on his own show, says he is not a fan. Melatonin helps you fall asleep but not stay asleep, most products hold far more than the body makes, and it acts on other hormones such as testosterone and estrogen. Occasional use for jet lag is probably fine, he says, but taking it night after night, especially for kids, can be a problem.
He prefers 145mg of magnesium threonate and 50mg of apigenin. He also cites brand tests that found anywhere from a fraction of the labeled dose to up to 400 times more.
Rhonda Patrick, on her own show, adds that melatonin signals the pancreas to stop making insulin. She uses that to explain why eating late at night can leave blood sugar higher. None of the remarks in this section is counted toward this claim.
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Full Melatonin evidence report
The verdict on every claim, and where the sources disagree