melatonin
A hormone your brain releases as darkness falls, telling the rest of your body that night has come. It's also sold as a tablet.
Where it comes up
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01
How does light affect my sleep?
How morning daylight, evening lamps and your phone set your body clock, what’s worth changing and how to use light if you sleep by day after night shifts.
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02
Is it okay to take melatonin every night?
Is melatonin safe to take every night? How the body's nighttime signal works, what it helps and which dose and timing make sense, with a word on children.
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03
Why am I still tired after a full night’s sleep?
Slept seven or eight hours and still woke up exhausted? Why mornings feel so slow, from sleep inertia to body-clock timing, and when it's worth a doctor.
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04
How do I sleep well on night shifts?
Why sleep after a night shift is short and light, and what helps: when to sleep, a nap before work, light and darkness, and guarding day sleep at home.
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05
Why can’t my teenager fall asleep before midnight?
Teenagers’ body clocks really do shift later. Why your teen isn’t sleepy at 10pm, what school start times do, and how to help without a nightly fight.
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06
How do I get over jet lag faster?
Why you’re wide awake at 3am after a long flight, why flying east is harder, and how to time light and dark so your body clock catches up sooner.
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07
Why do I wake up too early and can't get back to sleep?
Waking an hour or two before your alarm and lying there until it goes? Why it happens, from an early body clock to low mood, and what helps you sleep later.
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08
Why do my legs feel restless at night?
Restless legs at night: what the creeping urge to move is, why it comes in the evening, how iron and some medicines feed it and what helps.
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09
Why is my sleep so bad during menopause?
Night sweats, waking at 3am, lying awake for an hour: why sleep changes in menopause, and what helps, from CBT for insomnia to hormone therapy.
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10
Why is it so hard to sleep while pregnant?
Why sleep gets hard in each trimester, from nausea and heartburn to needing to pee, what the side-sleeping advice really says, and what helps.