Should you stop taking melatonin?

Do you take it? If not, the chances are you’ll know someone who does. In an age of insomnia, melatonin has become a must-have sleep aid; as ubiquitous as yoga or herbal tea. In America, it is available over the counter and, according to The National Sleep Foundation charity, 27 per cent of adults take it. The use of melatonin has more than quintupled between 1999 and 2018. In the UK, where it is prescription only, melatonin use rose by nearly 900 per cent between 2008 and 2019, and many more of us – exact numbers are unknown – buy it unlicenced online.

Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone produced by the brain’s pineal glands which regulates the circadian rhythm, or 24-hour body clock, which tells us when to wake and sleep. Secretion increases after the onset of darkness, peaking in the middle of the night.