One in eight American adults is regularly taking some kind of sleep aid, like a supplement or an over-the-counter drug, to help them fall or stay asleep, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dr. Sujay Kansagra, a sleep specialist at Duke University Medical Center, said the findings suggested that many people were trying to hack their way to better sleep, expecting a supplement like melatonin or magnesium to be “a magic pill.”
What they should be doing instead, he added, is working with a doctor to address the root cause of their sleep troubles.
Sleep problems are common: Another report released this week by the C.D.C. found that nearly one-third of adults were not getting the minimum seven hours of sleep a night that doctors recommend. Both reports analyzed survey responses collected from tens of thousands of American adults in 2024.
The new data showed that women were significantly more likely than men to have trouble falling asleep and also more likely to take something to help.
The most commonly reported were over-the-counter medications or supplements (about 6 percent), followed by prescription drugs (over 5 percent) and CBD or cannabis (about 4 percent).
The report found that the use of prescription or over-the-counter sleep aids increased with age. But the reverse was true for marijuana or CBD products: Around 6 percent of adults ages 18 to to 34 used them for sleep, compared with just 2 percent of those over 65.
The popularity of supplements reflects what Dr. Kansagra and his colleagues have seen in the clinic. He said that his patients primarily took melatonin and were increasingly interested in magnesium, which is often hyped on social media and promoted by well-known health influencers.
There is limited evidence that magnesium, which is often sold as magnesium glycinate or magnesium threonate, helps with sleep. It can be helpful for people who have trouble sleeping because of muscle tension, cramps or restless leg syndrome, said Dr. Ana Krieger, medical director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian. (Dr. Krieger recommends avoiding magnesium oxide, which can cause intestinal discomfort. Another form, magnesium citrate, can have a laxative effect.)
She said she was skeptical about the value of taking supplements that contain melatonin, a sleepiness-inducing hormone that the body naturally releases at night. Some research suggests that taking melatonin can help people fall asleep several minutes faster, but it doesn’t work for everyone and has performed no better than a placebo in other studies.
Dr. Kansagra said more of his patients used supplements than over-the-counter sleep aids that are often made with antihistamines similar to those found in Benadryl. While these can help some people fall asleep, he said, it often leaves them feeling groggy the next day. These drugs can also come with risks.
He added that there was not good data on whether C.B.D. helped with sleep.
Dr. Kansagra and other experts worried that by relying on supplements, people might fail to recognize a medical issue preventing them from getting enough quality sleep. For example, conditions like sleep apnea or anxiety can affect your ability to get a good night’s rest, he noted, as can certain medications, including some antidepressants and decongestants.
Your life circumstances or changes to your routine can also affect sleep, Dr. Krieger noted.
“If we’re really stressed out, or overworked, or we stay on the computer too late at night, we can’t expect to have a great sleep,” Dr. Krieger said. “If we alternate our sleep schedules from waking up at 7 a.m. during the week to going to bed at 2 a.m. on the weekends and sleeping in, supplements won’t fix that.”
Of course, stress and other factors that can interfere with your rest aren’t always in your control. But experts said that sticking to the basics of sleep hygiene as best you can will have a bigger, and longer-lasting, benefit than a supplement or medication. Those include keeping a consistent sleep-wake schedule even on the weekends, getting sunlight first thing in the morning, exercising regularly, limiting your use of devices in the hour or so before bedtime and keeping your bedroom cool and dark.
The post Can’t Sleep? Here’s What to Consider Before Trying Supplements. appeared first on New York Times.
