Melatonin
Ranked 2 of 10 dietary supplements by recommenders
Recommended for helping people fall asleep, often at low or liquid doses. Common caveat: morning grogginess, and evidence is weak outside jet lag and sleep disorders.
Recommended for helping people fall asleep, often at low or liquid doses. Common caveat: morning grogginess, and evidence is weak outside jet lag and sleep disorders.
67 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 43
- criticize it
- 24
- approval share
- 64%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 43 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Small doses are easy to dial in
“I've had a good experience with liquid melatonin. Each drop contains like 0.1mg, so it's easy to dial in the small dose that you need.”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration” “So you can take small doses easily, and it absorbs under your tongue pretty quickly.”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration” “I only take a couple drops at night and it does the trick for me.”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration” - Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration”
- Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration”
Helps fall asleep at a set time
“It’s not like it’s some miracle cure but it has helped a bunch with being able to fall asleep at a reasonable time”
Comment from 8 Oct 2026 in “ADHD as a circadian rhythm disorder: evidence and implications for chronotherapy (2025)” “Melatonin works well to help me get to sleep, but it doesn't keep me asleep.”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration” “Together with 0.3 mg melatonin it knocks me out.”
Comment from 28 Jun 2026 in “I used Claude Code to get a second opinion on my MRI” - Comment from 9 Oct 2026 in “ADHD as a circadian rhythm disorder: evidence and implications for chronotherapy (2025)”
Helps reset a sleep schedule
“I've fixed my sleeping schedule by taking lorazepam and melatonin every night”
Comment from 13 Jan 2026 in “Ozempic reduced grocery spending by an average of 5.3% in the US” “find it helps to quickly get me on the new schedule”
Comment from 9 Aug 2026 in “Melatonin impairs morning cognition in healthy young adults” “melatonin helps set the cycle”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration” Deep sleep through the night
“Prolonged-release melatonin keeps me asleep for the whole night”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration” “I slept like a baby for the first time in months.”
Comment from 9 Aug 2026 in “Melatonin impairs morning cognition in healthy young adults”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Morning grogginess or fatigue
“it has mild side effects, most commonly reported in the literature are daytime fatigue, headaches and GI symptoms”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration” “I'm groggy and fog-headed for several hours, or dependent on coffee to reverse the lingering effects.”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration” “if it isn't already early when I take it, I'm positively trashed for the morning after”
Comment from 10 Nov 2025 in “American Heart Association says melatonin may be linked to serious heart risks” - Comment from 9 Aug 2026 in “Melatonin impairs morning cognition in healthy young adults”
Headaches, stiffness, muscle spasms
“it has mild side effects, most commonly reported in the literature are daytime fatigue, headaches and GI symptoms”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration” “Long-term use of high dosage (5-10 mg) of melatonin gave me painful stiff neck and shoulders and muscle spasm.”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration” “I had problems waking up in the morning and was getting nasty headaches even with half a dose (1 mg).”
Comment from 9 Aug 2026 in “Melatonin impairs morning cognition in healthy young adults” Effect fades or wears off early
“melatonin is an awsome dream drug great for a midwinter cleanup of the unconsious attic but looses its zap, quickly”
Comment from 5 Nov 2025 in “Long-term use of melatonin to support sleep may have negative health effects” “If I take it and go right to bed I always wake up still in the 'window' of its effect.”
Comment from 9 Aug 2026 in “Melatonin impairs morning cognition in healthy young adults” “Melatonin works well to help me get to sleep, but it doesn't keep me asleep.”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration” Weak evidence and unregulated doses
“the evidence for melatonin is quite poor outside of jet-lag and certain more serious sleep disorders”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration” “are now recommending not to buy online because the doses are completely unregulated”
Comment from 10 Nov 2025 in “American Heart Association says melatonin may be linked to serious heart risks” “long term consistent melatonin use is not advised outside of special cases”
Comment from 9 Aug 2026 in “Melatonin impairs morning cognition in healthy young adults”
Other dietary supplements people recommend
The four most recommended other dietary supplements, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creatine monohydrate | 104 | 51 | 67% | 8 | 1 yr21 owners | Approved |
| MelatoninThis page | 43 | 24 | 64% | 8 | — | — |
| Magnesium glycinate | 31 | 7 | 82% | 8 | — | Approved |
| N-acetylcysteine (NAC) supplement | 17 | 5 | 77% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Psyllium husk | 13 | 1 | 93% | 10 | — | Approved |
What people said
40 of the 69 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Some other melatonin sleep aids give me the most vivid nightmares”
“Individually nothing works, but the combination crossed a tipping point for me with radical change.”
“has helped me get better sleep”
“It’s not like it’s some miracle cure but it has helped a bunch with being able to fall asleep at a reasonable time”
“by helping with dysautonomia, actually substantially increase energy levels and mental cognition during the day”
“I slept like a baby for the first time in months.”
“I can take 10mg, get waken up in a couple hours by the kids or pets and feel fully awake and well rested.”
“find it helps to quickly get me on the new schedule”
“I had problems waking up in the morning and was getting nasty headaches even with half a dose (1 mg).”
“I don't trust the US with this and the Netherlands has proven itself to me in this sense.”
“long term consistent melatonin use is not advised outside of special cases”
“It generally does help, but I can be groggy in the morning”
“If I take it and go right to bed I always wake up still in the 'window' of its effect.”
“I'm always foggy in the AM, so I avoid it if I have to be sharp the next morning.”
“it still has some effect the next day but much less than the higer doses of magnesium”
“Liquid melatonin is the way to go for micro dosing.”
“Go get children's melatonin gummies and cut it in half. Problem solved.”
“Long-term use of high dosage (5-10 mg) of melatonin gave me painful stiff neck and shoulders and muscle spasm.”
“I only take a couple drops at night and it does the trick for me.”
“So you can take small doses easily, and it absorbs under your tongue pretty quickly.”
“Melatonin works well to help me get to sleep, but it doesn't keep me asleep.”
“It's going to sound like I'm overselling it, but it changed my life.”
“I've had a good experience with liquid melatonin. Each drop contains like 0.1mg, so it's easy to dial in the small dose that you need.”
“I feel no more groggy the next day than if I slept sober.”
“it has mild side effects, most commonly reported in the literature are daytime fatigue, headaches and GI symptoms”
“The way melatonin works well for me is to wait until I'm already settled into bed and should be asleep, but I'm not.”
“I'm groggy and fog-headed for several hours, or dependent on coffee to reverse the lingering effects.”
“melatonin helps set the cycle”
“Prolonged-release melatonin keeps me asleep for the whole night”
“the evidence for melatonin is quite poor outside of jet-lag and certain more serious sleep disorders”
“1-3mcg of melatonin work well for me”
“the common levers I know and that worked at least a bit for me”
“Together with 0.3 mg melatonin it knocks me out.”
“melatonin taken at right doses appears to work very well”
“I've fixed my sleeping schedule by taking lorazepam and melatonin every night”
“if it isn't already early when I take it, I'm positively trashed for the morning after”
“are now recommending not to buy online because the doses are completely unregulated”
“multiple 5mg melatonin pills per night and it did nothing and made me fell gross”
“It's a quality brand and those are the dosage ranges I would recommend sticking around.”
“melatonin is an awsome dream drug great for a midwinter cleanup of the unconsious attic but looses its zap, quickly”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.