Melatonin and magnesium are useless for improving sleep, American scientists have concluded. The researchers noted that statistically, one in eight adults takes pills to sleep better but still suffers from insomnia.
The scientists found that melatonin’s effect is indistinguishable from a placebo in 50% of cases. The reason, they said, is that the body quickly becomes accustomed to the artificial hormone and stops producing its own. Magnesium, meanwhile, only offers real benefits to people whose sleep is disrupted by muscle cramps.
The main enemies of quality sleep are chronic stress, the blue light from electronic devices that blocks natural sleep mechanisms, and the absence of a consistent schedule, the researchers said. What does help sleep, they added, is a stable wake-up time and physical activity.
In Russia, according to a 2025 survey, only a quarter of Russians get adequate sleep, while just over half suffer from daytime drowsiness. In 2025, complaints of sleep disorders jumped 75% year on year, with women seeking medical help three times more often than men. Patients reported chronic fatigue, lethargy and “brain fog.”
In 2025, scientists at Pitirim Sorokin Syktyvkar State University developed ChronobioticsDB, a publicly accessible database that systematizes information on chronobiotics — substances that affect human biological rhythms, including sleep. The tool aims to help doctors choose therapies for sleep disorders and assist researchers in finding new, effective drugs that can restore proper functioning of the body’s internal clock.
