"The most magical sleep supportive potion I'm aware of is melatonin," says Rubin Naiman, PhD, sleep specialist, psychologist, and clinical assistant professor at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Although major sleep societies don't recommend it for the treatment of insomnia, Naiman compares melatonin to Nyx, the Greek mythological goddess of the night who mothered Hypnos, the god of sleep — calling it "Nyx in a bottle."
And indeed, millions of North Americans seem to agree. In 2012, an estimated 3.1 million Americans were taking melatonin, a number that has likely skyrocketed given that the global melatonin market, which was valued at $700 million in 2018, is projected to reach $2790 million by the end of 2025.
In much of the world, it's only available by prescription, but in Canada and the United States, it's freely available as a dietary supplement.
Ironically, although most people take melatonin for sleep, its best-kept secret may be its other reported benefits as an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and oncostatic agent.
Melatonin is a "multitasking molecule" whose "bewildering array of functions...has exceeded the expectations of the most ardent melatonin devotees," according to Russel J. Reiter, PhD, from UT Health San Antonio, a top authority on the molecule and one such devotee.
