Meta-analysis: melatonin for the treatment of primary sleep disorders.
The pooled evidence says melatonin gets people to sleep about seven minutes sooner — is that worth taking a hormone nightly, or should we look at what's actually keeping me awake?
Well-supported by good-quality research. how we score evidence
Caveat on this rating: The competing-interests statement records that the work was "partly funded by APIRE/Eli Lilly Psychiatric Research Fellowship" and "the AACAP/Eli Lilly Pilot Research Award" alongside NIH grants, so the funding is mixed rather than fully independent — though Eli Lilly markets no melatonin product, so there is no proponent conflict on this specific question. The pooled 7-minute and 8-minute effects are statistically significant and clinically trivial; readers who see melatonin described as "effective" are usually seeing this paper's conclusion divorced from its numbers.
In the United States melatonin is sold over the counter as a dietary supplement under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA).
Across 19 randomized placebo-controlled trials in 1,683 adults and children with primary sleep disorders, melatonin cut the time taken to fall asleep by 7.06 minutes (95% CI 4.37 to 9.75) and increased total sleep time by 8.25 minutes (95% CI 1.74 to 14.75), with a small improvement in sleep quality (standardized mean difference 0.22). Seven minutes. The authors state directly that "the absolute benefit of melatonin compared to placebo is smaller than other pharmacological treatments for insomnia."
Worth asking
The pooled evidence says melatonin gets people to sleep about seven minutes sooner — is that worth taking a hormone nightly, or should we look at what's actually keeping me awake?
Source
Meta-analysis: melatonin for the treatment of primary sleep disorders. — Ferracioli-Oda E, Qawasmi A, Bloch MH. (2013)
Indexed peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0063773
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0063773
How this was scored
- Study design
- Meta-analysis of randomised trials
- Funding
- Mixed public and industry funding
- Published in
- Indexed peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- 1,683
- Preregistered
- No
- Conflicts disclosed
- Yes
- Independent of proponent
- Yes
- Retracted
- No
Read the full scoring rubric, including what it can't tell you.
Published August 19, 2026.
Where we put this study in context
Questions
How strong is the evidence behind this?
Resolv rates this source "strong evidence". Well-supported by good-quality research. It scores 75 out of 100 on our published rubric. One caveat travels with that badge: The competing-interests statement records that the work was "partly funded by APIRE/Eli Lilly Psychiatric Research Fellowship" and "the AACAP/Eli Lilly Pilot Research Award" alongside NIH grants, so the funding is mixed rather than fully independent — though Eli Lilly markets no melatonin product, so there is no proponent conflict on this specific question. The pooled 7-minute and 8-minute effects are statistically significant and clinically trivial; readers who see melatonin described as "effective" are usually seeing this paper's conclusion divorced from its numbers. The score is calculated from recorded facts about the source — study design, funding, publication venue, sample size, preregistration — not typed in by an editor.
What is the source for this?
Meta-analysis: melatonin for the treatment of primary sleep disorders. — Ferracioli-Oda E, Qawasmi A, Bloch MH. (2013). Published in: Indexed peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0063773. The full source is linked on this page so you can read it yourself.
Who paid for this research, and does that matter?
Study design: Meta-analysis of randomised trials. Funding: Mixed public and industry funding. The researchers were independent of whoever benefits from the result. Industry sponsorship is one of the most reliably measured biases in medicine, which is why funding carries real weight in the score rather than sitting in a footnote.
Is melatonin, circadin, slenyto, n-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine, melatonin gummies FDA approved for this use?
No. Its current status is: Not FDA-evaluated for this use. In the United States melatonin is sold over the counter as a dietary supplement under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA).
Is this medical advice?
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.