Your Melatonin Bottle May Be Lying About What’s Inside
What’s Really in Each Capsule?
A new JAMA investigation tested 25 over-the-counter melatonin products and uncovered staggering inconsistencies:
- Real melatonin content spanned 74 % to 347 % of the printed dose.
- Only 3 brands (12 %) landed within the modest ±10 % margin of accuracy.
- The remaining 22 bottles (88 %) carried faulty labels.
Who Guarantees the Numbers? No One, Really
Melatonin is classified as a supplement in the United States, placing it outside the regulatory reach of the Food and Drug Administration. That means no agency vets ingredient purity or double-checks milligram counts before the capsules hit store shelves.
Not Just Melatonin—CBD Variability Also Surfaces
Five of the examined products further advertised CBD on their labels. Lab assays revealed:
- Servings contained anywhere from 10.6 mg to 31.3 mg of CBD.
- Actual cannabidiol ranged from 104 % to 118 % of label claims—closer than melatonin, but still imperfect.
Why This Matters for Children
Data from last year ring an urgent bell: the Childhood Lead Poisoning & Prevention Program documented a 530 % rise in pediatric melatonin overdoses over the past decade, most occurring in kids under five. Given the new dose uncertainty, researchers urge pediatricians to warn parents that “a single gummy can deliver a wildly unpredictable amount of hormone—or CBD.”
Safer Sleep Steps
Until better regulation arrives, the experts recommend:
- Consulting a physician before giving children any melatonin product.
- Tracking nighttime symptoms—if supplements are taken nightly without improvement, dosage, or underlying issues may need professional attention.
- Practicing robust sleep hygiene: a cool, dark bedroom and consistent bedtime may reduce the need for pills altogether.
Bottom line
If you rely on OTC melatonin to wind down, the capsule you swallow could be delivering far less—or dramatically more—than the promise on the label, making informed bedtime choices harder than ever.
