Supplemental melatonin: Yay or Nay?

Why I like melatonin for acute situations, but not for non-acute situations

Would supplemental melatonin help you?

6 situations to ask your doctor about supplementing with melatonin for

In certain severe situations, there is a lot of promising research about the benefits of using supplemental melatonin. Situations I encounter in my work & community include:

1. Preeclampsia or postpartum preeclampsia

2. During labor induction or augmentation with Pitocin

3. For a baby in the NICU

4. For a newborn (under 6 weeks) that can’t breastfeed

5. For a new mom with postpartum psychosis

6. Sundowning, dementia and Alzheimers

And there are likely other acute situations where working with a healthcare practitioner who understands melatonin’s use and dosing strategies could be very helpful.

Can melatonin help with other things?

I personally don’t like the idea of supplemental melatonin for non-acute situations.

When your body makes melatonin through its own pathways, it is always safe, effective, pure, timely, and so on.

But when melatonin is made in the lab and dosed by humans, it introduces a lot of complication and potential for contamination and errors. In an acute situation, that could be worth the risk, but not in everyday situations (at least to me).

For example:

And you can easily find more research about discrepancies between the stated doses in over-the-counter melatonin supplements and what is actually contained in the samples.

For these reasons, I recommend working with an experienced healthcare practitioner who can give you a trustworthy melatonin product and dose, and work with you through the acute situation using melatonin in conjunction with the other needed treatments.

Another problem with supplemental melatonin:

Melatonin is primarily made in the mitochondria. Adding melatonin is not going to resolve the mitochondrial dysfunction undermining melatonin production in the first place.

Supplemental melatonin questions & sharing

Quick post today, but happy to chat more about this subject in the comments if you are interested. Please tell us about your experiences and opinions of supplemental melatonin.

Updates from Nikko:

• I have a number of interviews posted on YouTube you can watch. Bookmark this playlist and you’ll have it when I add new ones later this year.

• Need a crash course in circadian health through a quantum lens? Join us inside the QBC community on Mighty Networks and navigate to the Circadian Basics video series. It includes ten videos sharing insights from several doctors and other circadian health experts.

• Last days to register for 🌺 Spring Cohort at the Institute of Applied Quantum Biology. I’ll be leading the welcome call along with my colleague Kathleen Horstmeyer on April 25th. If you are a healthcare practitioner looking for a continuing education program to add a reputable circadian & quantum health certification, I’d love to chat about getting you enrolled! Email me here.