HeadMeds gives young people in the United Kingdom general information about medication. HeadMeds does not give you medical advice. Please talk to your Doctor or anyone else who is supporting you about your own situation because everyone is different. Please read more important details about our site.

Waitingroom original

Melatonin

Return to Melatonin overview
  1. Use and Action
  2. Warnings and side effects
  3. Sex, drink, weight and everything else



Headmeds generic 695x330 listing
Taking Olanzapine and Sertraline: Elizabeth's story
After a couple of weeks my sleeping patterns regulated to how they had been before I began the medication

Melatonin can be used to treat the following conditions

Headmeds fills the medicines information gaps for young people - things you might want to know about meds like will it affect my sex life? Can I still study?  Can I drink?
Headmeds does not give medical advice so this is just general information.
Each medicine has a balance of good and bad effects, and each person gets their own individual effects.
You might want to know just one thing about your medicine, but on each page we have given you the ‘safety headlines’. Please read them as they are important.
We have included lots of information about each medicine - but if you want all the details, please look at the patient information leaflet – which is inside every pack. These leaflets are also at www.medicines.org.uk – where there will be the most up-to-date information.

Safety headlines

  • If you have taken more melatonin than it said on the label, you must go somewhere safe with someone to watch over you while you sleep off the effects and tell your doctor.
  • Rarely, melatonin can cause serious side effects, such as allergic reactions (difficulty breathing, swelling of your face or throat, itching skin lumps). If you get these or other serious symptoms, then you must go to a hospital straight away, taking your medicine with you.
  • You might feel sleepy in the first few days after taking melatonin, this is normal – do not drive a car, ride a bike or operate machines until you see how this affects you.
  • If you take melatonin while you are pregnant, we do not know if it can affect the developing baby. Use good contraception while you are taking melatonin. Talk to your doctor or midwife about this and get their help if you want to get pregnant or think you might be pregnant.

Basic details

Melatonin is a medicine that helps to treat difficulty sleeping (insomnia)

  • Melatonin is a natural hormone in the body.
  • It helps to reset your body clock and sleep pattern, to help your sleep get back in line with day and night.
  • It will usually be started by a specialist at a hospital.
  • Melatonin should be used alongside good “sleep hygiene” techniques. These include:
    o   Making sure that your room is dark and the right temperature.
    o   Avoiding looking at backlit screens around bedtime.
    o   Avoiding drinking caffeine-containing drinks in the afternoon and evening (such as cola, tea, and coffee).
    o   Doing exercise during the day (but not the last couple of hours before bed).
    o   Avoiding taking naps during the day.
  • The aim of using melatonin is to establish a good sleeping pattern with the lowest effective dose
  • Do not take other medicines to help sleep if you are taking melatonin.

You take melatonin as a long-acting tablet

  • Melatonin comes as 2mg tablets
  • Melatonin is available as a modified release tablet, which releases the medicine slowly into your body over a few hours
  • There are other forms available, including liquids and capsules, but they need to be ordered specially by the pharmacist

Melatonin is used to help you to sleep better

  • Melatonin has been shown to help older people to sleep better
  • Melatonin is not licensed for use unless you are over 55 years of age, as clinical trials have not yet been done in children and young people
  • However, it is sometimes used by specialists for children and young people
  • It can be very helpful to use alongside other medicines for young people with ADHD or autism spectrum disorders

The tablets contain lactose

The tablets may not be suitable for you if you have problems eating some sugars or dairy (milk-based) foods, as they contain lactose.

Reference sources

Back to top ↑