A digestion-focused nutritionist’s love letter to melatonin
Melatonin is having its (much-deserved) time in the spotlight. Unsurprisingly, as we feel the pressure of stress and modern life overwhelm, we realize how precious sleep is.
Because melatonin is the compound your body uses to regulate your sleep cycle, it seems like the ideal natural sleep aid—and spoiler alert, it often is.
Supplemental melatonin can do wonders for helping you get more restful sleep. However, the effects of melatonin are much wider-reaching than sleep!
In this article, I’ll cover how melatonin helps acid reflux, its importance for regulating inflammation, and its amazing antioxidant benefits.
We’ll also touch on…
Who shouldn’t take melatonin
How much melatonin you need to take to see results
And how to find a trustworthy melatonin supplement (plus the brands I recommend to my clients)
Melatonin and Acid Reflux
We know that melatonin is a natural sleep aid, but it doesn’t get enough attention for its incredible ability to prevent GERD and acid reflux.
Are you as surprised as I was when I first learned this?
Melatonin and acid reflux? Yep, it does seem unrelated.
But once you understand the mechanisms behind how melatonin helps with acid reflux and GERD, the relationship becomes clear.
First, let’s go over some cliff notes to see what causes acid reflux in the first place.
Acid reflux, also called heartburn, happens when the lower esophageal sphincter (the muscle that separates the stomach from the esophagus) doesn’t constrict properly, allowing acidic stomach contents to flow backward out of the stomach and up into the esophagus.
Digestive acid is serious stuff. While your stomach is designed to handle the extremely acidic stomach contents, the esophagus doesn’t have the same type of acid-proof cells.
When stomach acid hits the delicate esophageal tissue, it can be extremely uncomfortable, painful, and even detrimental to body-wide health if left untreated.
It's not too uncommon to experience occasional reflux. If you fall into this category, simply figuring out what causes reflux to flare can be enough to prevent it from happening in the first place.
However, if you have chronic acid reflux, you may have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
It’s crucial to see a medical professional and make a plan to stop GERD. Chronic damage to the esophageal tissue can lead to more serious complications when left untreated, such as Barrett’s esophagus.
Acid-blocking medications like proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are the standard prescription for GERD. They’re very effective but not without side effects. Long-term use of PPIs is linked to less good gut bacteria (1) and an increased risk of gut infections like C. difficile (2).
Melatonin has a protective and regulating effect on the entire gastrointestinal tract.
In fact, the gut produces about 400 times more melatonin than the pineal gland in the brain, the gland most commonly associated with melatonin production!
Here are the key ways that melatonin seems to help acid reflux (3, 4):
Strengthens the protective mucus barrier in the esophagus and the stomach
Helps trigger the contraction of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), the muscle that separates the esophagus from the stomach
Acts as a powerful antioxidant, helping repair cellular damage from acid exposure
Taking daily melatonin has been shown to be more effective than Prilosec (a proton pump inhibitor, also called omeprazole) at stopping GERD (5)!
Other studies have found that combining melatonin with PPIs is more successful at stopping GERD than PPIs alone (6, 7).
To be clear, I am NOT suggesting you forgo prescribed medication. Always speak with your doctor before making any changes.
Can anyone take melatonin?
For the majority of adults, melatonin is an extremely safe supplement to add to your routine or use as needed, even if you don’t have GERD or acid reflux, however there are a couple contraindications to keep in mind:
If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, it’s always best to check with your healthcare provider before adding any supplements to your regime, including melatonin.
If you are taking prescription medications like anti-depressants, blood thinners, or sleep aids, please check with your healthcare provider before supplementing with melatonin (because melatonin is metabolized by similar detoxification pathways as many pharmaceutical drugs).
Emerging research reveals that melatonin has incredible benefits for whole-body health. Let’s take a look at the extensive, full-body benefits of melatonin.
Melatonin benefits your whole body
One of the most extraordinary roles of melatonin is its action as an antioxidant. I was seriously mind-blown when I learned that melatonin does much more than just help with sleep!
Melatonin scavenges free radicals, protecting your cells from aging and damage from reactive oxygen species. But melatonin is unique because it is soluble in both water and fat, allowing it to cross the blood-brain barrier and the mitochondrial membrane.
This amphiphilic quality is likely why melatonin plays a pivotal role in the nervous system and mitochondrial health (8).
Your melatonin production decreases with age, dropping around age 20 and further declining after age 40. Once you are 60 or older, you produce only negligible amounts of melatonin.
Researchers still have a lot to learn about melatonin and everything it does for us. Below are a few highlights we know so far:
Melatonin for inflammation: Supplementing with melatonin can lower inflammatory markers in the body, a sign that whole-body inflammation is improving (9,10).
Melatonin for brain health: Supplementing with melatonin has been shown to improve brain health, memory, and learning in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (11).
Melatonin for migraine headaches: Melatonin supplementation may help prevent headaches and migraines. One randomized control trial found that 3 mg of melatonin for 3 months worked as well as amitriptyline (a prescription medication used for chronic pain and headache) (12).
When to take melatonin
It’s best to take melatonin in the evening, before bed.
This is true even if you are taking it for reasons other than sleep, such as GERD.
Other timing recommendations would need to be made by an experienced clinician.
How much melatonin should I take for GERD and sleep?
Melatonin dosage is based on the individual, but starting at 1 mg is generally recommended when using melatonin as a sleep aid and working up to 3 mg, as needed.
How much melatonin to take for GERD is a little different. Based on the available studies, 3 mg seems to be the best dose to use. This is the same dose I usually recommend to clients with GERD with great success.
If you’re interested in taking melatonin as an antioxidant and anti-aging supplement, maintaining a very low dose is recommended because this allows you to take it long-term. Very low dose melatonin is typically 0.3 milligrams—equivalent to what the pineal gland produces per day (13).
Best melatonin supplements
Choosing a reputable melatonin supplement is crucial.
It’s not uncommon for supplements to have a lower or higher dose than what is listed on the label, and for melatonin, you really want to know what you’re getting!
Below are a few of my favorites. I love these because they are third-party tested by Consumer Lab, so I feel confident when I recommend them to my clients.
Herbatonin - 0.3 mg plant-based melatonin
Source Naturals - 1 mg Melatonin Lozenege
Swanson - 1 mg Melatonin Capsule
Now - Liquid Melatonin 3 mg (available at most grocery and drug stores)
Pure Encapsulations - 3 mg Melatonin Sustained Release Capsule
If you would like to try any of these melatonins they are available through my dispensary. New orders can take 15% off!
Melatonin for health is just one part of the puzzle
No matter why you take melatonin, remember that you’ll always see the most substantial improvements in your health when you use all the tools in your toolbox.
Even though taking a melatonin supplement can do some pretty incredible things for health—especially for GERD sufferers—reliance on supplements is not what I recommend as a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner.
Whether you’re taking melatonin for GERD, melatonin for anti-aging, or melatonin for sleep, remember you can’t out-supplement a good diet and lifestyle.
Small steps like reducing your daily added sugar, eating enough protein, eating a variety of plant foods, and moving your body will always be foundational to health.