{"id":282130,"date":"2025-11-09T23:03:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T23:03:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/282130\/"},"modified":"2025-11-09T23:03:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T23:03:13","slug":"a-new-study-says-long-term-use-of-this-very-common-over-the-counter-sleep-aid-could-be-harming-your-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/282130\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Study Says Long-Term Use Of This Very Common Over-The-Counter Sleep Aid Could Be Harming Your Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is it time to rethink your melatonin habit? New research says potentially, but many doctors aren\u2019t so sure<\/a>.\"Person<\/p>\n

Grace Cary \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

In a new, not yet peer-reviewed report<\/a> published by the American Heart Association, researchers looked at five years of medical records from 130,828 people and found that those who were prescribed and took melatonin for 12 months or more had a 90% higher chance of heart failure when compared to those who didn\u2019t take the supplement.\"Person<\/p>\n

Halfpoint \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Researchers also found that melatonin users were at higher risk of being hospitalized for heart failure and dying of any cause.<\/p>\n

Heart failure is a condition<\/a> in which the heart isn\u2019t able to pump effectively and can\u2019t provide the body with enough oxygen. It can be managed with medication, along with lifestyle changes (such as diet and exercise), but can also lead<\/a> to heartbeat issues, liver damage and even death.<\/p>\n

\u201cMelatonin supplements may not be as harmless as commonly assumed. If our study is confirmed, this could affect how doctors counsel patients about sleep aids,\u201d lead study author Dr. Ekenedilichukwu Nnadi said in a press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Melatonin is a naturally produced hormone in our body that helps manage our body\u2019s sleep-wake cycle. It\u2019s also available over-the-counter and via prescription in the United States<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cMelatonin supplements are widely thought of as a safe and \u2018natural\u2019 option to support better sleep, so it was striking to see such consistent and significant increases in serious health outcomes, even after balancing for many other risk factors,\u201d Nnadi said in the press release.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth noting that this study has limitations. Since researchers relied on electronic medical records, only prescribed melatonin use was tracked, which means people in the control group could have been taking over-the-counter melatonin regularly without the researchers\u2019 knowledge. Moreover, the melatonin dose for each participant is unknown.<\/p>\n

This does not mean melatonin use causes heart failure.<\/p>\n

Related: “Young People Would Be Surprised By This”: 21 “Hard To Swallow” Truths About Getting Older That No One Talks About<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Grace Cary via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Related: 17 Cancer Patients Are Sharing The Concerning Symptoms That Made Them Go To The Doctor ASAP<\/a><\/p>\n

Experts warn that correlation does not equal causation. This research doesn\u2019t mean that taking a melatonin supplement for an extended period of time will cause heart failure. In fact, the need for sleep assistance could be a sign of other health problems that are tied to heart failure instead.<\/p>\n

Nnadi told NBC News<\/a> that \u201cinsomnia can increase blood pressure, stress hormones and inflammation.\u201d<\/p>\n

High blood pressure is a heart failure risk factor<\/a>, and high stress levels can also contribute to the likelihood of developing the condition. People in the study who treated their insomnia with melatonin could have these underlying, insomnia-related conditions (that aren\u2019t tied to melatonin use) that then put them at heightened risk of heart failure.<\/p>\n

Other studies haven\u2019t shown this melatonin-heart failure connection.<\/p>\n

Joyce Oen-Hsiao, an associate professor of cardiovascular medicine at Yale School of Medicine, told the Washington Post<\/a> that this report is \u201cthe only one that is saying that melatonin can cause heart failure.\u201d\u00a0Oen-Hsiao is not affiliated with the research.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, we don\u2019t have enough information to blanketly say all people should stop using melatonin,\u201d Oen-Hsiao told the Washington Post.<\/p>\n

That isn\u2019t to say you shouldn\u2019t talk to your doctor about the potential risks. More research is needed to determine what risks are associated with melatonin, but just because it\u2019s \u201cnatural\u201d doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s without consequences.<\/p>\n

A few habits can help you get better sleep.\"Person<\/p>\n

Rizky Ade Jonathan \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Not getting enough sleep or enough quality sleep can not only lead to high blood pressure, inflammation and higher stress, but is also linked to cardiovascular disease, plaque build-up<\/a>\u00a0in the arteries and other heart issues.<\/p>\n

Adults should aim for seven to nine hours of sleep each night,\u00a0Dr. Indira Gurubhagavatula<\/a>, a professor of medicine in the division of Sleep Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, previously told HuffPost<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Keeping your bedroom cool and dark, and staying off your phone in bed can help make drifting off to sleep a little easier. Limiting caffeine and exercising during the day can also help with sleep regulation.<\/p>\n

However, for those with insomnia, this sleep advice may be of little benefit. Instead, a sleep specialist can help determine the necessary steps to help you get proper rest, while also evaluating for any underlying sleep conditions (such as sleep apnea) that may be preventing you from getting high-quality sleep.<\/p>\n

Heart disease is the number one killer of adults in the United States. While following a healthy diet and exercising are well-known ways to lower your risk, prioritizing good sleep is, too \u2014 without the long-term help of melatonin.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Read it on BuzzFeed.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Is it time to rethink your melatonin habit? New research says potentially, but many doctors aren\u2019t so sure.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":282131,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[29779,149218,2934,97,252,253,19301,149217,145649],"class_list":{"0":"post-282130","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-care","8":"tag-american-heart-association","9":"tag-ekenedilichukwu-nnadi","10":"tag-getty-images","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-health-care","13":"tag-healthcare","14":"tag-heart-failure","15":"tag-melatonin-supplement","16":"tag-melatonin-supplements"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282130\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/282131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=282130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=282130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}