Safety · Supplement

Melatonin: side effects, safety & interactions

Safe short-term; grogginess and vivid dreams at high doses. It is a hormone, so caution in pregnancy and with autoimmune

Overall grade: Grade B
Last revised: Jul 10, 2026; 0
graded outcomes: 0
references listed

Compare with another entry

Assembled by the app from other entries in this library. It adds no evidence of its own — follow the links to the entries it draws on.

What is uncertain

Read off the same rows as above. Nothing here is added that the entry does not itself record.

Watch with Caffeine: Opposing signals — the afternoon caffeine cutoff protects the melatonin window.
Watch with Glycine: Both pre-bed and compatible.

The evidence in words

Safety profile

Safe short-term; grogginess and vivid dreams at high doses. It is a hormone, so caution in pregnancy and with autoimmune conditions; long-term data in children are limited.

Interactions to respect

Caffeine — Opposing signals — the afternoon caffeine cutoff protects the melatonin window. · Glycine — Both pre-bed and compatible. · SSRIs / SNRIs — Some SSRIs (fluvoxamine) spike melatonin levels — microdose or skip.

What Melatonin is

Melatonin is the hormone the pineal gland releases in darkness to signal biological night. Supplements shift the body clock and modestly aid sleep onset.

The honest bottom line

Use it as a clock-setter, not a sledgehammer: 0.3–1 mg timed correctly for jet lag, shift work, or delayed sleep phase. Skip the 10 mg megadoses.

Entries that share this one's tags or conditions.

MelatoninA circadian signal, not a sedative — brilliant for jet lag and shift work at low doses, mediocre as a nightly sleeping pill.Evidence grade B
Melatonin for Jet lagEvidence grade B — Best-supported useEvidence grade B
Apigenin: side effects, safety & interactionsBenign at these doses; theoretical mild CYP interactions at high intakes.Evidence grade C
Glycine: side effects, safety & interactionsVery safe and well tolerated at these doses.Evidence grade B

Sources

This entry lists no references of its own — it is assembled from the entries it links to, whose sources are on their pages.

Last revised Jul 10, 2026. A grade is this entry's reading of the evidence, not medical advice.