have ever had an allergic reaction to melatonin or any other medicine. have liver or kidney problems. have rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis or lupus, or any other autoimmune condition.
Do not use melatonin if you are pregnant or breastfeeding or have an autoimmune disorder, a seizure disorder or depression. Talk to your health care provider if you have diabetes or high blood pressure.
Some medicines and melatonin can affect each other and increase your risk of side effects. Lots of medicines may increase or decrease the drowsy-making (sedating) effects of melatonin.
Melatonin is generally safe to take, but it can have side effects and shouldn't be used by everyone. If you're having trouble with sleep and can't take melatonin or it doesn't work, you can do things like work on improving your sleep schedule and sleep environment.
Furthermore melatonin has been shown to have valuable effects on cardiovascular health, blood pressure, and endothelial function and it might benefit patients with heart failure.
Don't take melatonin if you're pregnant or breastfeeding. And know that these supplements can interact with other medications, such as some blood thinners, and that they may not be safe to take if you have certain health conditions.
Melatonin may increase blood pressure in individuals taking medication for hypertension and increase blood glucose levels in diabetics. Melatonin can also increase the sedative effect of central nervous system depressants and diminish the effectiveness of immunosuppressive therapy and medications for epilepsy.
Melatonin is generally regarded as safe for seniors by physicians and pharmacists because its side effects are mild, it's not habit forming, and it does not cause withdrawal symptoms if you stop taking it suddenly.
If a trial of melatonin is considered, experts recommend low doses (as low as 0.3 mg up to 2 mg) given 1 h before bedtime. In fact, many of the large studies involving older patients with insomnia used a 2-mg dose.
In the elderly, should prescription medication be necessary, the first-line treatment is nonbenzodiazepines (e.g., zolpidem, eszopiclone, zaleplon, and ramelteon) as they have been found to be safer and better tolerated than tricyclic antidepressants, antihistamines, and benzodiazepines.
It's important to note that there isn't a “safe” dosage of melatonin. Generally, an adult dose is thought to be between 1 and 10 mg. Doses near the 30 mg mark are usually considered to be harmful.
You should not take melatonin if you are taking specific drugs used to treat depression, anxiety, or high blood pressure. You should also not use melatonin if you are taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), corticosteroids, blood thinners, or antipsychotics.
Melatonin's target sites are both central and peripheral. Binding sites have been found in many areas of the brain, including the pars tuberalis and hypothalamus, but also in the cells of the immune system, gonads, kidney, and the cardiovascular system (39, 40).
On the other hand, melatonin inhibits the sympathetic system in several ways representing potentially the counter-regulatory mechanism to normalize excessive sympathetic drive. Second, administration of melatonin reduces heart rate in animals and humans.
Keep in mind that melatonin as it occurs naturally in the body doesn't have much of a daytime presence, so if you take melatonin too close to morning (such as if you wake up at 4am and erroneously take some to get back to sleep), or during the day, you can set yourself up for not just being drowsy and groggy, but ...
Melatonin is generally safe for short-term use. Unlike with many sleep medications, with melatonin you are unlikely to become dependent on it, have less response to it after repeated use or experience a hangover effect. The most common melatonin side effects include: Headache.
Michael Breus, PhD, a sleep specialist and clinical psychologist, explained that, while taking melatonin is generally safe and may help you fall back asleep, popping the supplement after you've already gone to bed can cause you to feel groggy in the morning, which sort of defeats the purpose of taking it in the first ...
While melatonin is generally considered safe, there have been some reports of it causing heart palpitations in certain individuals. This may be due to the fact that melatonin can lower blood pressure, which can cause the heart to beat faster to compensate.
Blood pressure medications -- Melatonin may reduce the effectiveness of blood pressure medications like methoxamine and clonidine.
Melatonin inhibits angiotensin II–induced atrial fibrillation through preventing degradation of Ang II Type I Receptor–Associated Protein (ATRAP)
Melatonin does tend to have less risky potential side effects than certain prescription sleep aids, Grandner says, but he adds that “melatonin is not a good alternative to prescription sleep medications. It does not work as a sedative and it is ineffective in most cases of insomnia.”
How Long Does Melatonin Stay in Your System? The half-life of melatonin is between 20 and 50 minutes, meaning half of the initial dosage in the body is eliminated after that amount of time. In total, melatonin stays in your system for about four to five hours.
What is a safe melatonin dose? According to Michael Grandner, director of the Sleep and Health Research Program at the University of Arizona, “melatonin is very safe if taken in normal doses,” which is anything between 0.5 mg and 5 mg.