Melatonin: America's Favorite Sleep Supplement
derrickpina
ThoughtCove
Every night, millions of Americans reach for a small pill, gummy, or chewable tablet hoping for a better night's sleep. That supplement is melatonin — and its rise in popularity over the past two decades has been nothing short of remarkable.
What Is Melatonin?
Melatonin is a hormone the human body produces naturally. It is made by a small gland in the brain and released in response to darkness, signaling to the body that it is time to wind down and sleep. As evening sets in, melatonin levels gradually rise, creating what sleep experts describe as a state of "quiet wakefulness" that eases the transition into sleep. By morning, exposure to light causes those levels to drop, helping people feel alert and awake.
When taken as a supplement, melatonin works by giving the body an additional dose of the hormone it already produces — essentially reinforcing a signal the brain is already trying to send.
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How Popular Has It Become?
The numbers tell a striking story. Melatonin use among American adults more than quintupled between 1999 and 2018. Use increased from just 0.4% of surveyed adults in 1999 to 2.1% by 2017–2018, according to data collected by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
More recent surveys suggest the growth has continued well beyond those figures. A 2022 survey by the Sleep Foundation found that more than 27% of U.S. adults reported taking melatonin to help them sleep. And according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, more than 6 in 10 people — 64% — have taken melatonin at some point.
It is not just adults. Use among children and adolescents is also on the rise. Melatonin is currently the fourth most popular natural product taken by adults and the second most popular natural product that parents give to their children.
Why Are People Taking It?
Many aspects of modern life — including screen use and shift work — can interfere with the body's natural sleep and wake cycle. Up to 19% of adults in the U.S. report not getting enough rest or sleep every day.
For those struggling with sleep, melatonin is an appealing option. It is widely available without a prescription, relatively inexpensive, and broadly perceived as a natural alternative to pharmaceutical sleep aids.
What Does the Science Say?
The research on melatonin is more nuanced than its popularity might suggest. Studies to date have not consistently shown that taking melatonin supplements helps with insomnia, jet lag, or recovery from shift work. It may provide some benefits for people with less-common sleep disorders caused by problems with the body's internal clock.
Research shows that a supplement may help people with insomnia fall asleep slightly faster, and may have bigger benefits for those with delayed sleep phase syndrome — falling asleep very late and waking up late the next day.
Is It Safe?
Short-term use of melatonin supplements appears to be safe for most people. However, information on the long-term safety of these supplements is lacking.
One area of growing concern is dosage accuracy. A study published by the American Medical Association in 2023 examined over-the-counter melatonin gummies and found that the actual quantity of melatonin ranged from 74% to 347% of the labeled quantity — with 22 of the 25 products tested, or 88%, found to be inaccurately labeled.
Because melatonin is sold as a dietary supplement, it is not approved or regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, meaning manufacturers are not held to the same standards as pharmaceutical companies.
The Bottom Line
Melatonin has gone from a niche supplement to a mainstream staple of the American medicine cabinet in just a generation. Whether that trend continues — and what it says about how modern life affects our sleep — remains an open and important question.