Last updated on January 17th, 2023 at 12:47 pm
Can melatonin cause headaches? The evidence seems to say yes, so let’s go through how to deal with melatonin-induced headaches…
Melatonin is commonly used as an aid for sleeping. But there are people who report experiencing headaches after taking this supplement. As always, it’s hard to get help from a chemical without there being some kind of drawback. In this article, we take a look at what melatonin is and why it may cause headaches.
It’s not unusual for people to deal with insomnia sometimes. Maybe you have difficulty falling asleep, or you could find yourself waking up after just a few hours of sleep.
Melatonin is a hormone that’s made by the body naturally. A few hours before bedtime, the level of melatonin in the body automatically increases.
It should be noted that melatonin doesn’t initiate sleep, but it does help with regulating sleep. There are people however, who don’t produce enough melatonin.
When this happens, they could have a harder time falling asleep. A solution for this is to take melatonin supplements.
However, in addition to helping you get some sleep, there is something else that melatonin supplements are associated with – headaches.
How To Get Rid Of A Melatonin Headache
You could be wondering about melatonin and headaches. It’s commonly known that one of the side effects associated with taking melatonin, is developing a headache.
If you have a headache associated with taking melatonin, here are some things you can do to reduce it:
- Eat nutritious meals, or every two hours, eat a healthy snack
- Don’t eat aged cheese, processed food or foods that are high in sugar
- Reduce your levels of stress with the help of stress management techniques
- Avoid disturbances that could affect your sleep
- Drink a lot of water
- You could also take medication to reduce the effect of your migraine
Getting a migraine from taking melatonin isn’t unusual. However, if you use these steps, then the pain from your migraine can better be controlled.
Remember that melatonin is produced by the body naturally. If you’re getting headaches from taking melatonin supplements, then this could suggest that your dose is wrong.
What Does A Melatonin Headache Feel Like?
A melatonin headache can leave you feeling dull as well as dizzy. It could also stop you from enjoying a good night’s rest.
If you take too much melatonin, then this could result in you experiencing a headache. This will feel like a dull, throbbing pain around the forehead, that refuses to go away.
You could end up feeling like you’re unable to sleep due to the pain. Your headache can further worsen after you wake up, especially if you were unable to enjoy a good night’s rest.
What Are The Side Effects Of Melatonin?
Melatonin is a hormone that helps in the sleep-wake cycle of the body. There are studies that suggest that melatonin can help with sleep disorders.
However, there are also certain side effects associated with taking melatonin, that you should know about.
This is what you should know about the side effects of melatonin. You can get:
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Drowsiness
- Nausea
There are also side effects that are less common as well. These can include short bouts of depression, mild anxiety and tremors, abdominal cramps as well as irritability.
You could also experience confusion as well as disorientation. There are people who also experience hypotension as well.
Melatonin is also associated with daytime drowsiness, which is why you should never drive or use heavy machinery within five hours of consuming melatonin.
How Long Does A Melatonin Headache Last
Like caffeine withdrawal headaches, melatonin headaches can last for a while. There are many people who take melatonin supplements in order to deal with insomnia.
While melatonin supplements can help you fall asleep, they can cause headaches as well. Such a headache can last anywhere between a few hours to through the day.
People usually take melatonin a few hours before they go to sleep at night. If you develop a headache associated with taking the melatonin, then you could end up with a headache through the night.
This headache is likely to be gone by the time you wake up, however there are also people who report having headaches in the morning as well.
Can Melatonin Cause Insomnia?
Melatonin is usually taken as a way to deal with insomnia. However, this isn’t the case for everyone.
There are people who still report experiencing difficulty sleeping, even after taking melatonin. It should also be noted that melatonin doesn’t actually help you fall asleep.
Instead, it tells your body when it should be feeling sleepy. Even if you take too much melatonin before bedtime, this doesn’t mean that you’ll fall asleep.
In fact, if you take too much melatonin, it can have the opposite effect. This is known as rebound insomnia.
Only small doses of melatonin are needed in order to support the sleep cycle the body naturally has. Around 1-3 mg of it a few hours before bedtime can help you fall asleep.
If you are taking the right dose of melatonin and still can’t fall asleep, then it may be time to consider visiting a medical professional.
Symptoms Of A Melatonin Overdose
You may want to know about melatonin and migraines. If you take too much melatonin, then the most common result of that is not being able to sleep.
This is as taking too much melatonin can affect the circadian rhythm of your body. If you have overdosed on it, then you could feel sleepy as well as groggy during the day.
You could also get nightmares, or have vivid dreams at night. These are the common symptoms associated with overdosing on melatonin:
- You could feel nauseous
- You could feel dizzy
- You could develop headaches
- You could feel anxious
- You could feel irritable
- You could have diarrhea
- You could also experience joint pain
There are also people who could have their blood pressure affected by taking too much of this medication.
What Is A Melatonin Hangover?
A melatonin hangover is the feeling you get the morning after taking too much melatonin the night before. You could wake up feeling dull and tired.
You may not have enjoyed a good night’s sleep. This is as taking too much melatonin can affect the circadian cycle of your body.
A melatonin hangover can leave you feeling tired and sleepy through the day.
FAQ Relating To Melatonin And Headaches
People often have many questions about melatonin and headaches. Melatonin is a supplement that many people take, in order to sleep better at night.
But this doesn’t work for everyone. And many people have reported experiencing a headache after taking melatonin. These are the most common questions that people have about melatonin and headaches.
Why Does Melatonin Give Me A Headache?
Whenever you introduce a new substance to your body, there is always a chance for a reaction that is adverse. An example of this is taking melatonin supplements and getting headaches.
There is also another school of thought regarding what causes this. Some people believe that as melatonin is connected to the circadian rhythm, taking supplements could interfere with the sleep cycle.
This is what could end up causing headaches. When you take too much melatonin before going to sleep, you could find that you have a hard time falling asleep.
In addition to this, you could experience a headache as well.
What Are The Negative Effects Of Taking Melatonin?
There are certain negative side effects that you could experience if you take melatonin. The most common of these are headaches as well as dizziness.
In addition to this, you could end up feeling nauseous as well. Melatonin is often taken as a sleep aid, so it comes as no surprise that you could end up feeling drowsy after taking this supplement.
There are also other short term side effects, such as feelings of depression as well as anxiety. You could get abdominal cramps as well, or experience hypotension.
You could also feel disoriented, confused and irritable.
What Are The Side Effects Of Taking Melatonin At Night?
Most people take melatonin at night, a few hours before going to bed. This is as melatonin is believed to have a positive effect on helping you sleep at night.
Melatonin is a hormone that is naturally produced by the body. It helps regulate the circadian rhythm of the body.
Some people who have difficulty falling asleep at night choose to take melatonin. If consumed in large amounts, this can end up making it difficult for you to sleep through the night.
Ideally, you should only take the dose prescribed to you. Remember that melatonin only tells your body that it’s time to sleep, and doesn’t actively help you to fall asleep.
Can Melatonin Cause Cluster Headaches?
It has been seen that the levels of melatonin are low in people who suffer from cluster headaches. It’s actually the lack of secretion of melatonin that predisposes people to cluster headaches.
Should you be suffering from cluster headaches, then you could be asked to take melatonin as a way to deal with it. While it’s true that taking melatonin does cause headaches in some people, this doesn’t mean that they get cluster headaches.
Rather, melatonin is used to help deal with cluster headaches. However, if you take too much melatonin, then this can also result in you experiencing a headache.
This is why you should only take the dose that has been prescribed to you by a medical professional.
