Supplementing melatonin doesn’t appear to affect the body’s own production in a negative way. Studies that have administered melatonin at doses of 0.5 mg,[1] 5.0 mg,[2] and 50 mg[1] have found no significant effect on the body's ability to produce a basal level of melatonin. One trial even found that people with insomnia who took 2 mg of melatonin nightly for 6 months had higher natural melatonin synthesis after cessation of the supplement than a historical sample of participants with insomnia who didn't take melatonin.[3]
References
- ^Matsumoto M, Sack RL, Blood ML, Lewy AJThe amplitude of endogenous melatonin production is not affected by melatonin treatment in humansJ Pineal Res.(1997 Jan)
- ^Arendt J, Bojkowski C, Folkard S, Franey C, Marks V, Minors D, Waterhouse J, Wever RA, Wildgruber C, Wright JSome effects of melatonin and the control of its secretion in humansCiba Found Symp.(1985)
- ^Patrick Lemoine, Doron Garfinkel, Moshe Laudon, Tali Nir, Nava ZisapelProlonged-release melatonin for insomnia - an open-label long-term study of efficacy, safety, and withdrawalTher Clin Risk Manag.(2011)