Fact
US melatonin use rose about fivefold in two decades
The share of US adults who reported taking melatonin in the past 30 days rose from 0.4% in 1999–2000 to 2.1% in 2017–2018, with almost all of the rise after 2009–2010.
Confidence: SolidReplicated or measured directly in a large, well-designed sample.Show the data as a table
| cycle | Used melatonin in past 30 days (weighted %) |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 0.5% |
| 2001–2002 | 0.5% |
| 2003–2004 | 0.3% |
| 2005–2006 | 0.2% |
| 2007–2008 | 0.5% |
| 2009–2010 | 0.4% |
| 2011–2012 | 0.6% |
| 2013–2014 | 1.3% |
| 2015–2016 | 2% |
| 2017–2018 | 2.1% |
Table, "Women" row (weighted %). Overall per-cycle values appear only in the paper's Figure, so they are not charted. The overall endpoints in the claim (0.4% and 2.1%) are from the Results text. Men followed the same path, from 0.4% to 2.1% (Table, "Men" row).
By 2017–2018, about 1 in 50 US adults reported taking melatonin, up from about 1 in 250 at the turn of the century. Use among both women and men stayed under 1% through 2011–2012 and then climbed. The authors date the start of the rise to 2009–2010 and found the trend similar across sex and age groups. The authors also report a rise in use above 5 mg a day, from 0.08% in 2005–2006 to 0.28% in 2017–2018, which is higher than the usual recommended dose. The "fivefold" is approximate: the 1999–2000 figure rests on few users and has a 95% CI of 0.2%–1.0%, so the true multiple could be much smaller or larger. The data are self-reported, end in 2018, and cover adults only.
Source and method
- Li J, Somers VK, Xu H, Lopez-Jimenez F, Covassin N (2022). Trends in Use of Melatonin Supplements Among US Adults, 1999-2018. JAMASample: 55,021 adults (20+) across 10 NHANES cycles, 4,865–6,214 per cycle; 296 melatonin users
The authors pooled ten 2-year cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a nationally representative survey of noninstitutionalized US residents. In a home interview, adults were asked which dietary supplements they had taken in the past 30 days and had to show the containers. Interviewers verified the container for 93.9% of reported melatonin users. Prevalence is survey-weighted, and trends were tested by regression on survey cycle.
Published October 14, 2026.
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