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Open WellbeingWhat the studies actually measured

Sleep

Melatoninand Sleep

All three sources here measured higher sleep.

How sure anyone can be

Moderate certainty, level 3 of 4

Further research may change this.

The most certain of the three findings here; each record carries its own.

The numbers reported

One source’s range, drawn against its own line of no difference and scaled to its own numbers.

0.120.22 standardised effect size0.32

This range stays on one side of the no-difference line.

Bar the confidence interval — the range the true effect is likely to sit inNotch the number the source reportedLine where there would be no difference at all

Three sources, newest first

What we read is the published abstract, not the full paper, so a blank below may still be printed in the paper itself. A person went through the criteria and recorded which brought the rating down. Their reasons are not on record here.

  • Systematic review, 2013 · 1,683 participants

    Moderate certainty, level 3 of 4

    Meta-analysis: melatonin for the treatment of primary sleep disorders.

    Ferracioli-Oda E, Qawasmi A, Bloch MH. Meta-Analysis: Melatonin for the Treatment of Primary Sleep Disorders. PLoS ONE. 2013;8(5):e63773. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0063773. PMID:23691095.

    Number reported
    0.22 standardised effect size
    Which way it went
    Higher
    Likely range
    0.12 to 0.32
    Source’s own words
    standardised effect size sleep quality; sleep latency average difference -7.06 min; total sleep time average difference 8.25 min
    Who was studied
    Adult
    Compared with
    placebo
    Amount taken
    Not in the abstract
    For how long
    Not in the abstract
    Disagreement between studies
    Not in the abstract
    Kind of record
    Meta-analysis
    How this rating was reachedstarts at High, one step down: imprecision
    1. Starts at High
    2. Imprecision brought it down to ModerateThe reason for this step is not on record here.
    3. Ends at ModerateOne step down.
    Not written down for this rating
    risk of bias, indirectness and inconsistency

    Imprecision stops at the first check that applies; others may apply too.

    Signed & machine-rechecked — a person signed the exact source records, and the software re-derived this rating from them and got the same answer.

    Read the abstract on PubMed

  • Randomised trial, 2010

    Moderate certainty, level 3 of 4

    Nightly treatment of primary insomnia with prolonged release melatonin for 6 months: a randomized placebo controlled trial on age and endogenous melatonin as predictors of efficacy and safety.

    Wade AG, Ford I, Crawford G, McConnachie A, Nir T, Laudon M, et al. Nightly treatment of primary insomnia with prolonged release melatonin for 6 months: a randomized placebo controlled trial on age and endogenous melatonin as predictors of efficacy and safety. BMC Med. 2010;8:51. doi:10.1186/1741-7015-8-51. PMID:20712869.

    Number reported
    -17.4
    Which way it went
    Higher
    Likely range
    Not in the abstract
    Source’s own words
    minutes placebo-adjusted sleep-latency change in elderly patients
    Who was studied
    Adult
    Compared with
    placebo
    Amount taken
    Not in the abstract
    For how long
    Not in the abstract
    Disagreement between studies
    Not in the abstract
    Kind of record
    Randomised controlled trial
    How this rating was reachedstarts at High, one step down: imprecision
    1. Starts at High
    2. Imprecision brought it down to ModerateThe reason for this step is not on record here.
    3. Ends at ModerateOne step down.
    Not written down for this rating
    risk of bias, indirectness and inconsistency

    Imprecision stops at the first check that applies; others may apply too.

    Signed & machine-rechecked — a person signed the exact source records, and the software re-derived this rating from them and got the same answer.

    Read the abstract on PubMed

  • Systematic review, 2005

    Moderate certainty, level 3 of 4

    Effects of exogenous melatonin on sleep: a meta-analysis.

    Brzezinski A, Vangel MG, Wurtman RJ, Norrie G, Zhdanova I, Ben-Shushan A, et al. Effects of exogenous melatonin on sleep: a meta-analysis. Sleep Med Rev. 2005;9(1):41-50. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2004.06.004. PMID:15649737.

    Number reported
    -4
    Which way it went
    Higher
    Likely range
    Not in the abstract
    Source’s own words
    minutes sleep-onset latency reduction
    Who was studied
    Adult
    Compared with
    placebo
    Amount taken
    Not in the abstract
    For how long
    Not in the abstract
    Disagreement between studies
    Not in the abstract
    Kind of record
    Meta-analysis
    How this rating was reachedstarts at High, one step down: imprecision
    1. Starts at High
    2. Imprecision brought it down to ModerateThe reason for this step is not on record here.
    3. Ends at ModerateOne step down.
    Not written down for this rating
    risk of bias, indirectness and inconsistency

    Imprecision stops at the first check that applies; others may apply too.

    Signed & machine-rechecked — a person signed the exact source records, and the software re-derived this rating from them and got the same answer.

    Read the abstract on PubMed

What is still missing from these readings

  • Two give no likely range, so how precise those numbers are is unknown.
  • Two do not say how many people took part.
  • Amount taken — Not in the abstract.
  • For how long — Not in the abstract.

Something nobody wrote down is never a zero and never a guess.

Still to read for Melatonin

Two of the ten things on our list for Melatonin have no reading here yet:

  • Body Temperature
  • Serum cortisol (morning)

Still to read means nobody here has got to it, not that it was tried and did nothing or that no research exists. A pairing on no list is not a gap: we never set out to read it.

Read next

This is a library, not advice. No recommendation, no dose, no diagnosis, no ranking. We never ask about your symptoms, and nothing here is tailored to you.