Can You Overdose on Melatonin?

If you’ve been looking into sleep aids, you’ve probably come across something called melatonin. It works pretty well as a sleep aid, but a lot of people are now asking can you overdose on Melatonin?

In this post, you’re going to get an in-depth look at exactly how much Melatonin is safe to take, what to look for in an overdose, and much more.

If you’re thinking about taking it and need some guidance, this post will offer some general information.

But don’t forget to ask your doctor before taking anything, especially if it has to do with your quality of sleep.

Alright. Let’s dig in.

What Is Melatonin?

Melatonin is actually a hormone created in the pineal gland. It helps your brain to know when it’s time to sleep, and when it’s time to wake up.

Your brain is supposed to create Melatonin when it gets dark. On the opposite side of the coin, light inhibits Melatonin production.

Of course, this makes a lot of sense when you take into account how primitive humans have been living for eons and eons.

When daylight hits, our bodies stop producing Melatonin, and we wake up.

When the sun goes down, we start to get tired and Melatonin production helps us to get to bed at a reasonable time and sleep well through the night.

However, as you can probably imagine, especially in our modern world, a lot of people suffer from low Melatonin levels.

When we use our phones before bed, stare at a computer screen, or work night-shift, it doesn’t take much to see how our natural sleep-wake cycle can get thrown off.

With that being said, some people find that taking extra Melatonin as a supplement helps to re-balance this cycle.

This isn’t a new idea, and people have been doing this for years.

The only real question, then, is this.

How much should you take? And how much is too much?

How Much Melatonin Is Too Much?

As a general rule, you need to be careful about taking more than 3mg of Melatonin. This is not to say that you can’t take more. But, for most people in most situations, 3mg is going to be more than enough to offset the problems they are having.

According to doctors, Melatonin supplements are safe to take when you take them appropriately.

But how much is too much?

The appeal of Melatonin is that it is pretty much an all-natural supplement. So it tends to give you a lesser risk of side effects than you would get with other supplements.

Still, with that being said, it is possible to take too much of it.

How Much Melatonin Should You Take?

A safe dosage of Melatonin usually starts at 0.3 to 0.5mg, and then works its way up to 5mg, depending on the person and the situation.

Melatonin reacts differently within different people, so experimenting with a lower dose first is usually recommended.

One thing to make a note of is that you should never take more than the recommended amount.

What Are the Symptoms of a Melatonin Overdose?

Too much Melatonin can actually make it harder to sleep, and keep you groggy during the day. But there is also a range of overdose side effects to be aware of.

• Vivid dreams or nightmares at night
• Daytime grogginess
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Headaches
• Anxiety
• Irritability
• Diarrhea
• Joint Pain

In some cases, taking Melatonin can also affect your blood pressure.

Now, with all of that being said, we sometimes get questions about whether or not Melatonin reaches toxicity at certain levels.

Let’s talk about that.

Can a Melatonin Overdose Be Fatal?

The short answer to this question is a ‘no.’

An LD50 (Lethal Dose for 50% of Subjects) could not be established in animals during Melatonin tests. And when tested, a dose of 800mg/kg wasn’t found to be lethal for humans.

So can Melatonin kill you?

According to the literature, it doesn’t appear so.

But, here’s the tricky thing about Melatonin supplements.

Investigations into Melatonin supplements have shown that different brands and products may actually contain anywhere from -83% up to +478% of what they claim to contain based on the labeling of the bottle.

In other words, you need to be careful when taking supplements.

It is advised that you only take the directed amount, and that you make sure that you are buying the product from a verified company with a proven track record of safety.

You certainly don’t want to buy cheap Melatonin supplements that don’t have any validation on the marketplace, and rely on them to help you sleep better.

Remember, supplements are loosely regulated.

And they are not all created equal!

So make sure that you are buying products from companies you trust before taking any hormone supplements.

Is 10mg of Melatonin Too Much?

Melatonin is safe in doses of up to 10mg. In fact, it is sometimes sold in doses of this size.

But here’s the thing to keep in mind.

Taking more Melatonin than a certain amount ceases to be useful.

So it is advised that you experiment with lower doses first, and try to see what dosages begin to affect you in a positive way.

Then, you may want to increase that dosage by a tiny amount to make sure that you are getting the full effect of the hormone.

But after that, taking higher dosages just puts you at a risk for side effects without increasing the odds of it working any better.

Can I Take 15 mg of Melatonin?

The highest recommended dosage of Melatonin is 10mg.

But if Melatonin isn’t really dangerous at high levels, why bother cutting it off at 10mg?

Here is what you should look out for.

If you take Melatonin, and still have trouble falling asleep within 20 to 30 minutes, you may need to either further adjust your sleeping habits, or increase your dosage.

But here’s another thing to look out for. If you wake up feeling groggy the next day, after getting a full night’s rest, then it is possible that you took too much, and that you should lower your dosage.

Is It Safe to Take 20mg of Melatonin?

According to answers given on