EASY Does It: Melatonin and COVID

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The EASY guide to deciding whether to try something for COVID

When you are choosing whether or not to do something for your health, take it EASY! All four factors - 1) Effects, 2) Access, 3) Safety, and 4) You – can help you make a decision.

Dave knew that people use melatonin to help with sleep, but he recently read that taking melatonin could help protect him from COVID too.¹ He used the EASY guide to help figure out if this makes sense for him:

Effects: Studies in cells and animals have found that taking melatonin might help prevent or treat a viral infection like COVID, but studies in humans have not been done. Melatonin is a hormone or chemical messenger in the body long thought of as the “sleep hormone” which regulates the body’s internal biological clock and improves sleep. Getting enough sleep is important for the immune system, the main system that protects against disease. This is one way melatonin might help fight infection and illness.^2-4 Studies in cells and animals found that melatonin regulates inflammatory chemicals in the body and might help protect against different viruses.⁵ Studies in humans showed that taking melatonin supplements may reduce some chemicals that make inflammation and in conditions with a lot of inflammation, people with higher natural levels of melatonin might have less severe illness.^4-8 Lower doses might be more helpful for sleep and minimize daytime sleepiness.⁹ Eating foods that contain melatonin like tart cherry juice have also been shown to improve sleep.¹⁰ Higher doses of up to 10 mg nightly for more than 12 weeks may be necessary to reduce inflammation.⁶ Longer term studies and studies on the best dose for infection or viral protection are needed.

Access: Melatonin is made in many parts of the body, including the pineal gland in the brain where it is made in response to darkness. Levels of melatonin in the body follow a light-dark cycle and are highest at night and lowest during daylight.¹¹ Light, especially blue light, blocks melatonin from being made by the brain.^11,12 People that work at night and sleep during the day make less melatonin than people that work days and sleep nights.¹² So being exposed to bright light during your awake-time, and being in darkness while you sleep may help increase your natural melatonin levels. Melatonin also declines with age. People over 50 have less than half the level of natural melatonin as people aged 20-40 years which might contribute to increased insomnia in older people.¹³ Several foods contain melatonin that may be absorbed into the body, and increase circulating melatonin, see Table 1, Melatonin-Rich Foods.^14,15 Some nuts, beans, whole grains such as red and black rice and wheat, mushrooms, and some fruits and vegetables have significant amounts of melatonin. Sprouting of grains and beans and fermentation appear to increase melatonin levels in certain foods.¹⁵ Melatonin is also available as a supplement and is inexpensive. A thirty-day supply of 1 mg tablets from online sources ranges from 81 cents to $1.70.

Safety: Supplementing with melatonin for sleep at doses from 0.3 to 10 mg nightly for up to one to two months appears safe. The lower 0.3 mg dose can raise blood melatonin to normal peak levels.⁹ Mild and rare side-effects include headache and daytime sleepiness.^13,16

You: Dave is 68 and is generally healthy. He tries to eat well, exercise, social distance and wash his hands frequently to prevent a COVID infection. He doesn’t sleep as well as he used to and wakes up often during the night.

Dave knows now there are no human studies on melatonin for COVID or other viruses. He decides to eat more foods that contain melatonin and to try 1 mg melatonin nightly to help him sleep and maybe also help his immune system. He also removes any light in his bedroom at night to maximize his natural melatonin.

* DW, based on dry weight; FW, based on fresh weight

NOTE: Dietary supplements are intended to supplement the diet. They are not medicines and are not intended to treat, diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or cure disease. In some cases, dietary supplements may have unwanted effects, especially if taken before surgery or with other dietary supplements or medicines, or if you have certain health conditions. Also, supplements are not regulated with the same degree of oversight as medications. Products vary greatly in terms of accuracy of labels, presence of contaminants, and the validity of claims on the label. Work with your health care provider to determine how best to achieve optimal health. 

What we know about integrative health care has come to us thanks to the efforts, experiences, and collective wisdom of people from many cultures and backgrounds. We wish to acknowledge all the healers, researchers, patients, and peoples who have informed the content of this tool.

Author(s)

This handout was adapted for the Osher Center for Integrative Health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from the original by Sara Arscott, PhD, and Adam Rindfleisch, MD.

Date Created: June 2020

References

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