# Podcast 996: Melatonin

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/emergency-medical-minute-972156/podcast-996-melatonin
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/emergency-medical-minute-972156/podcast-996-melatonin.md
Podcast: [Emergency Medical Minute](https://stenobird.com/podcast/emergency-medical-minute-972156)
Published: 2026-03-02T17:19:00+00:00
Episode link: https://emergencymedicalminute.libsyn.com/podcast-995-melatonin
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/emergencymedicalminute/Melatonin.m4a?dest-id=465437
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/emergency-medical-minute-972156/episodes/podcast-996-melatonin
Duration seconds: 249

## Resource

Contributor: Taylor Lynch MD Educational Pearls: Melatonin is an endogenous hormone released primarily by the pineal gland Also released by extrapineal regions in the retina, the GI tract, and some immune cells Peak secretion occurs at night and is suppressed during the day Secretion and production decrease with age Older patients experience the greatest improvement in sleep latency and sleep quality Mechanism of action in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus MT1 receptor Reduces normal firing MT2 receptor Shifts the circadian rhythm FDA approved for insomnia Decreases sleep latency by 7 minutes Increases total sleep time by 8 minutes FDA approved for circadian sleep-wake disorders Jet lag Most effective in west-to-east travel Best if crossing at least 5 time zones Shift work A study examined ED physicians and nurses with rotating shifts Modest increase in deep sleep percentage No difference in cognition or reaction time the day after taking melatonin Nurses on rotating night shifts experienced increased total sleep time by 20 minutes Dosing 0.5 - 3 mg is the most evidence-based dosing Higher doses increase the risk of rebound grogginess but do not improve outcomes References Ahmad SB, Ali A, Bilal M, et al. Melatonin and Health: Insights of Melatonin Action, Biological Functions, and Associated Disorders. Cell Mol Neurobiol. 2023;43(6):2437-2458. doi:10.1007/s10571-023-01324-w Herxheimer A, Petrie KJ. Melatonin for the prevention and treatment of jet lag. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2002;(2):CD001520. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD001520 Morgenthaler TI, Lee-Chiong T, Alessi C, Friedman L, Aurora RN, Boehlecke B, Brown T, Chesson AL Jr, Kapur V, Maganti R, Owens J, Pancer J, Swick TJ, Zak R; Standards of Practice Committee of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine…

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## Transcript

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