Business Insider: American consumers spent $825,559,397 on melatonin supplements in 2020, representing a 42.6% year-over-year increase.
American consumers spent $825,559,397 on melatonin supplements in 2020, representing a 42.6% year-over-year increase, according to Nielsen. Melatonin serves as a cheap, easy solution to fixing declining sleep habits: The supplement costs as little as $5 a bottle in some cases.
“When you go to bed, your whole day replays in your mind,” said Asim Shah, professor and executive vice chair at the Baylor College of Medicine. “If you worry throughout the day whether you are going to catch the disease or your loved ones are going to catch the disease, of course it is difficult to sleep.”
But last year’s surge in melatonin sales could have long-term consequences, experts warn.
The Food and Drug Administration regulates dietary supplements less strictly than over the counter or prescription drugs, meaning companies could falsely advertise the amount of melatonin within their product, according to Jennifer Martin, a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Board of Directors.
