Roshan Saldanha hadn’t managed a full night’s sleep in quite a while. Midnight, at times even later, was the 29-year-old, Mumbai-based event manager’s usual bedtime. With his always-on phone and mind flickering
across the dark like faulty bulbs, all he could remember of most nights was the ceiling staring back at him. Jaded by constant suggestions to reduce screen time and practise yoga, he was getting desperate for an easier way out when a WhatsApp acquaintance gushing over a “totally natural sleep gummy” stopped him mid-swipe. The very next moment, Saldanha ordered a 60-count bottle from an Ayurvedic brand touting “plant-powered sleep” on a popular e-commerce site. At first, it was absolute magic. A few weeks on, he felt stalked by a weird headache and grogginess. By week six, he couldn’t help looking online for more on his new sleep buddy. What came back made him dart to his physician.
The Sleep Economy
Saldanha is among a growing tribe of Indians falling for melatonin as a quick fix for their tossing-and-turning nights. With the sleep-inducing hormone easily accessible over the counter as tablets, sprays and gummies, the boom in India’s melatonin market is as telling as the need it serves. In a Wakefit survey of 2,500 respondents, 33.4% feared having insomnia and 57.8% reported nodding off during work hours. A LocalCircles survey of more than 89,000 respondents across 393 districts found 46% averaging less than six hours of uninterrupted sleep daily. The culprits are all too familiar: irregular schedules, hustle culture, anxiety, endless screen time, and long commutes.
Little wonder that Google searches for “melatonin” have nearly doubled over the last five years. In the last year alone, sleep gummy sales have jumped six-fold and queries around them have spiked 650%. India continues to be among the world’s largest melatonin exporters — it ranked second in 2023-24 with 75 shipments. Urban millennials and Gen Z aged 18 to 35, a whopping 85% of whom reported poor sleep in a 2025 ZzzQuil survey, are the main buyers.
Misread Hormone
The job of melatonin, produced by the pineal gland, is to signal the advent of darkness and activate the brain’s sleep-regulating centres. “Melatonin is useful only in small dosages — one to three milligrams — for circadian rhythm disturbances, when our body’s internal clock and the external environment are not in sync — for example, in jet lag, shift work, or in people who sleep very late and wake very late, or vice versa,” explains Dr. N. Ramakrishnan, senior consultant in critical care and sleep medicine, and founder of Nithra Sleep and Health Care, Chennai.
Yet, melatonin products, often marketed in India as “natural nutraceuticals”, are exempt from regulatory and labelling rigours. Many formulations are sold in doses around 2 to 10 times higher than recommended. Free of the psycho-social burden attached to sleeping pills, they often lull buyers into an ill-informed sense of safety, giving them a convenient excuse to avoid seeing a doctor. “Long-term, unsupervised consumption of melatonin comes with risks,” says Dr. Kunal Bahrani, Chairman and Group Director — Neurology at Yatharth Group of hospitals. “Its common side effects include headaches, daytime sleepiness, dizziness, nausea and hormonal effects such as mood changes or altered sleep-wake cycles.”
Unregulated and Oversold
Wellness and self-care influencers in India are increasingly promoting branded melatonin sleep supplements but often stop short of specifying dosages. “In many instances, the growing anxiety and orthosomnia resulting from wearable sleep trackers also lead to excessive Googling and self-medication,” says Dr. Ramakrishnan. While India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation has banned some fixed-dose melatonin combinations, the broader melatonin supplement market is largely unchecked.
When it comes to sunlight, Dr. Ramakrishnan says India exemplifies ‘poverty amidst plenty’. “Despite abundant sunlight, most people do not get enough exposure,” he says. “This reduces vitamin D synthesis during the day, which may impact melatonin levels at night.” He shares that many people often try out melatonin and magnesium before coming to him. “Both can be useful only in specific situations and always as a short-term measure,” he cautions.
The Fine Print
Children too could be at risk. “There has been a noticeable increase in melatonin use among children in India, although its use in those under five is relatively uncommon,” says Aditi Khemka, a Kolkata-based child sleep consultant. “Since children already produce higher levels of melatonin than adults, supplementation should be approached with caution. Rather than a first-line solution, melatonin should be used only for specific conditions such as ADHD or autism, and only under medical supervision.”
Drug interactions are a crucial consideration. “Melatonin can interact with antihypertensives, impacting blood pressure, and with sedatives, causing excessive drowsiness. It can also interact with antidepressants, anticoagulants and diabetes medications,” says Dr. Bahrani. “Recent observational studies link long-term melatonin use with increased risks of heart failure, hospitalisation and mortality, though causality has not yet been established. As a pharmacologically active hormone, melatonin should not be treated as a casual supplement, especially by patients with comorbidities.”
The Shortcut That Isn't
Although 60% of Indian consumers believe lifestyle changes are the essential first step, the lure of melatonin as an instant cure is just too strong to resist. Treating symptoms instead of causes can complicate matters. “In most conditions, sleep disturbance is among the first symptoms. Masking it with melatonin does not lead to full resolution,” says Dr. Sheeba Iram, consultant psychiatrist at Prakriya Hospitals, Bengaluru. “Unless the underlying cause for sleep disturbance is addressed, the patient continues to have the emotional distress associated with anxiety or depression.” Between lifestyle changes and supplements lies another important intervention: cognitive behavioural therapy.
Sleep issues are more often behavioural rather than biochemical. Reducing sleep to a short-cut might fit our idea of convenience, but it makes us lose sight of the fact that sleep must be earned, not hacked, for it to be truly restorative. The body seldom forgets how to sleep; we do.
Essentials of sleep hygiene
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Maintain consistent bedtimes and wake times
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Avoid bright light an hour before bed
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Avoid late or heavy meals
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Refrain from alcohol in the evening
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Follow a calming bedtime ritual
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Avoid stressing over not being able to fall asleep
