What is Melatonin?
Melatonin is a hormone your body makes in response to darkness, signalling that it is night and helping to set the timing of sleep. As a supplement it is used to shift the body clock rather than to sedate.
Melatonin is often mistaken for a sleeping pill, but it governs when you feel sleepy rather than forcing sleep itself. That makes it different from calming ingredients such as GABA or L-theanine, which ease tension without moving the clock. It also works on a different part of sleep architecture than magnesium, which supports deep sleep.
Melatonin is most useful for jet lag or a shifted schedule, where the body clock is out of step with the desired bedtime. The catch is that it does little for people whose sleep problem is not a timing issue, and larger doses can leave some feeling groggy the next morning. Timing the dose wrongly can push the clock the wrong way.
For timing-friendly evening support, see our REST range.
Frequently asked questions
How is it different from a sleeping pill?
Melatonin nudges your body clock toward night rather than sedating you into unconsciousness. A sedative forces drowsiness, whereas melatonin only signals that sleep should come.
Who uses it, or when is it the right choice?
It suits travellers crossing time zones and shift workers realigning a schedule. It is at its best when used briefly to move sleep timing, not as a nightly crutch.
When is it the WRONG choice?
It is the wrong choice when the real issue is racing thoughts, pain, or fragmented sleep rather than timing. Higher doses can also cause next-day grogginess, so more is not better.