Melatonin and Depression: What Users Say

• Rob...
• July 3, 2021

For Insomnia "I have used melatonin for insomnia. It helps me fall asleep faster, but frequent urination from 5 am wakes me up, which is not normal. Then in the morning, feeling anxious and depressed for no specific reason, dizzy and tearful all day, fatigue and tiredness all day, unable to take my simple daily walk on a beach. Questioning my life and very dark mood. Nausea and no appetite all day, sleepy all day, headache. I took only 2.5 mg for 4 days and then stopped. Feeling fine after 2 days. During these two days, I felt very dizzy, nauseated, and tired. To be sure, I tested it once again a month later, took only 1.25 mg for 3 days, and each day was worse than the day before. It doesn't matter on the dosage, both times, I feel bad with all side effects mentioned above. I found out a much better alternative is Magnesium Glycinate supplement, which does not have any side effects on me. Simply took 100-200 mg magnesium pills and fell asleep within an hour, slept well till morning with no side effects the next day."

• Rat...
• December 2, 2013

For Insomnia "It works well, although I feel depressed and super drowsy when I take too much. And when I don't take the pill, I feel like I can't reach deep sleep even if I was tired. Don't listen to the people taking 3 mg and over. That is way too much. The body produces 0.8 mg of melatonin naturally for your sleeping purpose. I take 1 mg at the max approximately 1 hour and a half before going to bed and keep functioning until I start feeling tired. I stay away from a screen with blue light."

• Nat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 5, 2018

For Insomnia "I’m a nurse, so lots of shift work, not willing to go for anything too hard. Got some Circadin (melatonin slow release) 2 mg, took for a few days just so I can have a decent sleep. First night/day slept like 16 hours on and off, next few days kind of 6-8 hours, but crazy vivid dreams. Another two days-depressed as anything, feeling like a zombie, no jokes, worst anxiety, depression ever, never again."

• Mag...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 24, 2019

For Insomnia "Followed instructions, only took once. Fell asleep 2 hours after taking it. 11 pm. Slept for 6 hours but was getting up to urinate every hour, which is not normal for me. Very alert when I woke at 5 am. Had a cup of tea, and then the nausea, headache, anxiety, depression, and lightheadedness came on. My neck feels strange. Felt like I could throw up and no appetite. Would never recommend these."

• Eca...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 3, 2017

For Insomnia "I got some of this from my doc as I was having bad dreams about my father, who had recently passed. My experience has been absolutely awful. Dreams out of this world! It takes the first 2 hours of the day getting over the wild, vivid craziness that happened in your supposed deep sleep. Then came the DEPRESSION!! I have never been depressed and never fully understood how others felt, now I do!! I knew it was the melatonin, so I stopped and I was fine. I am not going to ramble on, but be so careful, it's an insidious drug, for me anyway."

• Bel...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 18, 2019

For Insomnia "I have tried melatonin three times. It is truly awful! It made me go into a very light sleep, but it still felt like I haven't slept. It gave me headaches, very low mood, sadness, eye twitching, anxiety, weird dreams, and felt completely out of it and dazed all day, which isn't good for life or work. I'm going to seek natural methods. Never taking it again. I heard today that staying really hydrated helps sleep. I'm also going to try the following: valerian root, lavender oil, ginkgo biloba, magnesium, and passion flower tea."

• qqi...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 29, 2022

For Insomnia "I used melatonin and slept well, the next day, though, I was depressed, had suicidal thoughts, and anxiety. I used it for one week. Also got back pain. Then I stopped, and all these symptoms disappeared after 2 days off. Tried again a few weeks later, same story."

• Hey...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 26, 2019

For Insomnia "I have been using melatonin for 2 weeks now. The last week I have been noticing some really nasty side effects. I have been dizzy all day, my anxiety and depression are really bad. I had a panic attack at work and am actually now in such a dark mood. After reading all the reviews here, I'm quitting this stuff immediately."

• Mar...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 27, 2019

For Insomnia "I took melatonin to switch my sleep schedule after working third shift. I was going to bed around 8 am and waking up around 3 pm. When I took one 12.5 mg melatonin, I fell asleep around 12/1 am but woke up a few times throughout the night. One time I woke up, I was seriously down, and the point of living for me was lost. I ended up crying myself to sleep. I have very mild depression that’s mainly work-related. I never felt like this before. I’m assuming it’s from the melatonin. So, I’d recommend it with caution to anyone with any depression symptoms or diagnosed depression."

• OCD...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 8, 2019

For Insomnia "I really don't recommend it, specifically if you have any anxiety or depression. I was normally using melatonin when I was taking antidepressants for my OCD, which turned my life into hell, and it was effective. But after quitting antidepressants, every time I use melatonin, I get severe depression (and real dark thoughts) and anxiety, and as a result, I can't sleep, it is not safe."

• sma...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 18, 2015

For Insomnia "I'm 49, menopausal, and I am detoxing methadone (for cancer pain), and every night I find myself wide awake, body and mind, despite Rx sleeping pills. I was taking 2-3 mg tabs of melatonin with fairly good results. I have since learned that that is considered a high dose. However, I picked up a new bottle and inadvertently got 5 mg tabs, so for 4 nights I was taking 10 mg, and it had an opposite effect. I was anxious, my heart was racing, I became quite depressed throughout the day, and of course, I was wide awake. So if you are having any of those problems with melatonin, then maybe try a lower dose. I have since learned that a body normally makes 0.3 mg/day, so much lower doses make sense. Sweet dreams..."

• Bee...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 7, 2018

For Insomnia "This has been the worst experience ever! I started melatonin per my doctor's recommendation. 5 mg at night. It did seem to be working at first. I was sleeping through the night finally. After about 3 weeks, I started noticing my depression was worsening and did not know why. Then my heart started feeling like it was beating faster than normal. So, I got to doing some research online and reading other people's reviews and found melatonin does not mix with my antidepressant. I stopped taking it immediately, but it was a struggle getting my antidepressant medication back to normal. It's been a week now, and I am finally feeling somewhat back to myself."

• Jen...
• September 23, 2019

For Insomnia "Circadian 2 mg. I took for 3 nights, crazy nightmares, woke exhausted, irritable, and anxious. Have also taken herbal melatonin, also useless, no nightmares, but no sleep either. Might be effective for some people, but not for me."

• Izn...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 12, 2017

For Insomnia "Is it true this medicine can make depression worse in people who are predisposed to depression? This is in the brain, serotonin is converted into melatonin? The brain has a feedback sensing mechanism: if one takes a melatonin tablet, the normal level of melatonin present at the receptors goes up, the brain senses this and responds by decreasing serotonin production! I think this drug can be useful for jet lag for those who are not predisposed to anxiety and depression! I'm predisposed, and I tried it once and felt hopeless the next day! It also did not help sleep! Be careful with melatonin if depression and anxiety are present or in remission! One can try it and see how they feel!"

• Izn...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 12, 2017

For Insomnia "Is it true this medicine can make depression worse in people who are predisposed to depression? This is in the brain, serotonin is converted into melatonin? The brain has a feedback sensing mechanism: if one takes a melatonin tablet, the normal level of melatonin present at the receptors goes up, the brain senses this and responds by decreasing serotonin production! I think this drug can be useful for jet lag for those who are not predisposed to anxiety and depression! I'm predisposed, and I tried it once and felt hopeless the next day! It also did not help sleep! Be careful with melatonin if depression and anxiety are present or in remission! One can try it and see how they feel!"

• zzz...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 16, 2020

For Insomnia "I have had chronic insomnia for 20 years and usually coped by taking afternoon naps when I had to work through a day on 4-6 hours of sleep or exercising extremely hard to tire myself out (neither is a long-term good solution). Melatonin works extremely well for me. I would recommend carefully starting with 1 mg and increasing 1 mg at a time only to the extent that it's necessary. If I take 2 mg, I'm asleep in an hour with a 50% likelihood, and if I take 5 mg, I'm asleep in 45 minutes with a 90% likelihood. But the vivid, often disturbing dreams are more common on nights when I take the larger dose. Still worth it to me even with the dreams. I personally have not had any of the side effects from melatonin other people have mentioned, like an increase in depression or suicidal thoughts, and I'm extremely prone to both of those. Aside from marijuana, this is my best option for getting 8 hours of sleep regularly."

• qqi...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• March 10, 2017

For Insomnia "Caused anxiety and depression. Didn't realize this after taking them for a year. When I stopped taking them, I became my good old self. The doctor confirmed these side effects afterward because I had a new doctor."

• Ros...
• December 14, 2016

For Insomnia "Be careful. I was prescribed Circadin by my psychiatrist to help with insomnia caused by my antidepressant. Over a period of around 3 months, I became anxious, agitated, and extremely depressed. I felt like I was losing my mind. I then realized that my deterioration coincided with starting the melatonin, so I stopped it. Within 24 hours, my depression was under control and I was back to my normal self. It says on the drug information that it can worsen depression and cause mood changes, yet my psychiatrist thought it would be a good idea to prescribe it for someone with severe depression. It also caused awful trapped wind and tummy pain. It's a shame because, as a sleeping tablet, it did actually work. Back to zopiclone for me!"

• Oti...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 14, 2023

For Insomnia "I've been taking melatonin for three weeks, and for the last couple of days, I've been getting terrible headaches and dizziness. I did not take melatonin the previous night, and this is day one with no melatonin the night before. I still feel awful, I have a headache and am slightly dizzy, plus depressed over the situation. I was taking 3 mg of melatonin. Upon review, it is noted in the United States that melatonin is not regulated. I believe my 3 mg pills were probably more like 10 to 20 mg pills. Stay away from this junk."

• Sar...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 31, 2022

For Insomnia "I'll sometimes take 0.5 mg of melatonin per night because it works for better sleep, but I eventually have to stop taking it within a week because my psych meds become less effective. I become anxious then depressed. Would rather have a level mood."

• Ale...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 21, 2021

For Insomnia "Great to help for sleep, but anxiety and depression the next day. Inclusive bad thoughts. Headache. I tried 5 mg, 2.5 mg, 1 mg, and 0.5 mg, all the same. Just my personal reaction. I take if desperate for sleep."

• VLE...
• January 17, 2017

Melatonin for Jet Lag "Just wanted to share my melatonin experience after my travel to Thailand. My jetlag has been really bad for days, and one of my friends had melatonin pills with him. The effect is fast and stronger than a sleeping pill. How can that be possible? It could be a dangerous thing and become an addiction for people. I did it 3 times. And I felt super depressed the next mornings. So I guess something is not right when people are saying... OH NO WORRIES, MELATONIN IS IN YOUR BODY ALREADY. IT IS NOT DANGEROUS."