Should I take melatonin before a flight?

Taking a melatonin supplement when you first get on a flight— if traveling overnight—is a great way to ease yourself to sleep, so you wake up refreshed and rested when you land. However, this should only be done for flights longer than 6 hours, as this is how long it takes melatonin to leave your system.



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With this in mind, melatonin supplements are generally recommended for longer flights where you'll be able to sleep for a substantial amount of time before landing. You can also use melatonin to help adjust your sleep schedule before flying to a different time zone.

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Is melatonin allowed on planes? Yes, you can fly with melatonin on a plane.

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Take melatonin. If you're traveling, your body might need a little nudge. Melatonin is available as a nonprescription sleep aid in doses of up to 10 milligrams. It helps your body produce natural melatonin at the appropriate time when your schedule is off-kilter.

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As a general precaution, however, Dr. Varga does not recommend taking either melatonin or a sleeping pill for the first time on a plane, given that both may occasionally cause adverse effects in some people. (And it's best not to find out that you're one of those people while you're trapped at 30,000 feet.)

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Your doctor can prescribe you a type of medication known as benzodiazepine, which can calm the nervous system. The most well-known examples are Xanax and Ativan, which act within minutes to relieve anxiety. They last several hours — which is the duration of most cross-country flights, such as Los Angeles to New York.

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Jet lag is worse going east, traveling against the natural direction of the sun. Eastward travel requires advancing the circadian system to adjust to the new time zone. Doctors consider melatonin especially effective for eastward travel and for travel that lasts longer than three days.

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As a sleep aid, melatonin has been widely studied and is a common jet lag treatment. The latest research seems to show that melatonin aids sleep during times when you wouldn't typically be resting, making it beneficial for people with jet lag.

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