4 Melatonin Myths You Should Know Are False Before Taking It

It may be tempting to take another melatonin if you want to fall asleep quickly, but Shelby Harris, PsyD, DBSM, a behavioral sleep physician and author of A woman’s guide to overcoming insomniapreviously told mbg that melatonin is best used in low doses (0.5 milligrams to 1 milligram).
“If you take more than 3-5 milligrams a night, melatonin is unlikely to work for you. There is simply no data to suggest that more than [0.5 milligram to 1 milligram] indicated for sleep problems, and sometimes more means more,” she explains. Additionally, mbg vice president of scientific affairs Ashley Jordan Ferreira, Ph.D., RDN, adds that “taking melatonin, especially at high doses, can be associated with undesirable desensitizing phenomena such as nightmares, drowsiness, and headaches.”