Melatonin
Melatonin is a hormone medicine that resets the sleep-wake cycle. This shelf carries one product, Meloset 3 mg tablets, licensed for short-term jet lag in adults and insomnia in children with ADHD.
Key points
- Jet lag and ADHD insomnia are the two licensed uses: short-term treatment of jet lag in adults, and insomnia in children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 with ADHD where sleep hygiene measures alone have not worked.
- Timing decides whether it works. The label warns that taking melatonin at the wrong hour can have no effect, or an adverse effect, on re-synchronisation, and sets a window of 20:00 to 04:00 at your destination.
- Drowsiness is a real risk. Melatonin may cause drowsiness, so take care if that could put your safety at risk.
How does melatonin work?
Melatonin is a hormone your body makes at night to signal that it is time to sleep. As a medicine, it nudges the internal clock that governs the sleep-wake cycle back into alignment. That clock is what goes out of sync in circadian rhythm sleep disorders, whether from a long flight or a shift change.
The timing matters as much as the dose. The label states that incorrectly timed intake can have no effect, or an adverse one, on re-synchronisation, and restricts use to between 20:00 and 04:00 at your destination. For children with ADHD-related insomnia, a specialist in sleep management should start the treatment.