Mixed evidencehormone
Melatonin for Jet Lag
Melatonin is the hormone that signals biological night; taking it at the new destination's bedtime helps re-time the body's internal clock to the new time zone faster than it would re-align on its own.
How strong is the research?
Mixed evidence
Randomized, double-blind trial in 257 Norwegian physicians returning from a 5-day New York visit (6-hour eastward flight home): none of three melatonin regimens (5 mg at bedtime, 0.5 mg at bedtime, 0.5 mg on a shifting schedule) outperformed placebo on the study's own jet-lag severity scale. Study partly funded by the New York State Office of Mental Health.
How much to take
0.5–5 mg