Recently I consulted on a case where a client with insomnia insisted on tracking her sleep with a wearable monitor (think Fitbit or Apple Watch).She soon realized that her sleep tracker was actually increasing her anxiety about sleep. She became more aware of every toss and turn during the night. Ultimately, the client decided to forego the tracker and use only a paper sleep log each night and morning. Her anxiety decreased overnight (pun intended) and she starting falling asleep faster and staying asleep longer.

Melatonin is a hormone that is naturally found in the body. It is produced synthetically in the laboratory and is available in pill form as well as forms that can be absorbed under the tongue or through the cheek. However, before we talk about the role of melatonin in sleep, let’s talk about what it’s NOT for. So many of the patients I work with on sleep issues describe taking melatonin on a regular basis, every night before bed. Melatonin is not a sedative. It is not sleep inducing and it does not share any of the properties of prescription or over-the-counter sleep aids