Melatonin Supplements Linked to Heart Failure, Study Says

You can find Melatonin gummies, capsules and tablets in virtually every health food store and supermarket supplement section. They help promote sleep and are available over the counter. They are usually made from synthetic ingredients and mimic the effects of natural melatonin, a hormone produced by the pineal gland that helps regulate sleep cycles.  

Nearly 27% of American adults take melatonin supplements to ease short-term insomnia, overcome jet lag, relieve migraine pain and make it easier to sleep after shift work. While they’re considered generally safe, they should be taken on a short-term basis.

Unfortunately, a lot of people use them long-term, which has been linked to health issues, including heart failure. In fact, long-term use of Melatonin has a 90% greater heart failure risk, according to the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2025.

A research team led by SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University reviewed 5 years of electronic health records for more than 130,000 adults with chronic insomnia who had taken melatonin for at least 1 year. More than 61 percent of participants were women, and the participants’ average age was 55.7 years. Records of participants using melatonin (about 65,000) were matched with records of peers in the database who also struggled with chronic insomnia but didn’t report taking melatonin (about 65,000 people). Records of adults who were previously diagnosed with heart failure or prescribed sleep medications were excluded from the study.  

Their analysis showed that melatonin users were:

• More likely to be diagnosed with heart failure, require hospitalization for the condition or die from any cause.
• Nearly 3.5 times as likely to be hospitalized for heart failure when compared to those not taking melatonin.
• At 90% higher risk of incident heart failure over 5 years if they used melatonin for 12 months or longer when compared with matched non-melatonin users.
• At 82% higher risk of incident heart failure if they filled 2 or more melatonin prescriptions at least 90 days apart (this statistic refers to participants in Britain, which requires a prescription for melatonin).
• Nearly twice as likely to die from any cause as those in the non-melatonin group.  

This study was valuable because it showed an association between melatonin and increased risk of heart failure or death, raising safety concerns about the long-term use of melatonin for insomnia. But it was observational — the results do not show a cause-and-effect relationship. This could mean that heart failure isn't caused by melatonin, but instead by an underlying condition that a lot of melatonin users may have, like sleep apnea. 

If you’re struggling to get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep most nights, work with your primary care physician. Your doctor may recommend keeping a sleep journal and adopting habits that can help you sleep better, such as improving your sleep hygiene, eating less refined carbs, cutting back on caffeine and alcohol and using blue-light-blocking glasses.  

If these tactics don’t work, your doctor may order a sleep study, a test that records brain waves, blood oxygen levels, heart rate, breathing rate and eye and leg movements while you sleep. The data obtained from the sleep study may reveal symptoms associated with sleepiness, ultimately helping your doctor diagnose a condition that can interfere with sleep, such as sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, narcolepsy, REM sleep behavior disorder or sleepwalking. While these conditions are not curable, treatments may help you sleep better.

The MDVIP Wellness Program, which features advanced screenings and diagnostic tests, can help your doctor identify health issues that may affect the quality of your sleep, such as depression, anxiety and exercise. The results from the wellness program are used to develop a personalized wellness program that could focus on sleep. And if you smoke, a well-known cause of poor sleep quality, an MDVIP-affiliated physician has time to work with you to help you quit. This may involve recommending a cessation program or prescribing a nicotine replacement therapy.  

If you don’t have a doctor, consider partnering with an MDVIP-affiliated physician. Find a physician near you and begin your partnership in health »