Michael Schulson

And it begins to be more widely used.

So a lot of the early news coverage or advertisements have something that says it's not for children. And then starting in the 2000s, that the age floor begins to drop in this really interesting way. By the late 2000s, you start to see some news reports of parents using it.

So a lot of the early news coverage or advertisements have something that says it's not for children. And then starting in the 2000s, that the age floor begins to drop in this really interesting way. By the late 2000s, you start to see some news reports of parents using it.

So a lot of the early news coverage or advertisements have something that says it's not for children. And then starting in the 2000s, that the age floor begins to drop in this really interesting way. By the late 2000s, you start to see some news reports of parents using it.

You start to see articles that are saying, well, maybe for kids older than 10, this makes sense, but not for really small kids. And over time, that just kind of gets gradually lower and lower and lower. And even then, it's especially in the last few years that it seems to be that clinicians are reporting a real uptick in use.

You start to see articles that are saying, well, maybe for kids older than 10, this makes sense, but not for really small kids. And over time, that just kind of gets gradually lower and lower and lower. And even then, it's especially in the last few years that it seems to be that clinicians are reporting a real uptick in use.

You start to see articles that are saying, well, maybe for kids older than 10, this makes sense, but not for really small kids. And over time, that just kind of gets gradually lower and lower and lower. And even then, it's especially in the last few years that it seems to be that clinicians are reporting a real uptick in use.

I would say it's being marketed to parents in a very deliberate way. Yes. And it's the bottles. It's a lot of the language around saying melatonin is safe and drug free and non-habit forming. Right. These are all terms that you hear coming up again and again in this marketing.

I would say it's being marketed to parents in a very deliberate way. Yes. And it's the bottles. It's a lot of the language around saying melatonin is safe and drug free and non-habit forming. Right. These are all terms that you hear coming up again and again in this marketing.

I would say it's being marketed to parents in a very deliberate way. Yes. And it's the bottles. It's a lot of the language around saying melatonin is safe and drug free and non-habit forming. Right. These are all terms that you hear coming up again and again in this marketing.

So melatonin falls into this really weird in-between space, right, where I think it's regulated as a supplement. And a lot of people think about it as being harmless and natural. And it's also something that's a prescription drug in a lot of the world, right, and is very much a drug. a drug. Legally, it is classed as a supplement. And so it's legal to say that it's not a drug.

So melatonin falls into this really weird in-between space, right, where I think it's regulated as a supplement. And a lot of people think about it as being harmless and natural. And it's also something that's a prescription drug in a lot of the world, right, and is very much a drug. a drug. Legally, it is classed as a supplement. And so it's legal to say that it's not a drug.

So melatonin falls into this really weird in-between space, right, where I think it's regulated as a supplement. And a lot of people think about it as being harmless and natural. And it's also something that's a prescription drug in a lot of the world, right, and is very much a drug. a drug. Legally, it is classed as a supplement. And so it's legal to say that it's not a drug.

But I think that that can create this weird thing where people think about it as being maybe a little different than what how researchers and physicians describe it, which is they're like, it's a hormone. It's a hormone you take in order to change something in your sort of create a change in your body.

But I think that that can create this weird thing where people think about it as being maybe a little different than what how researchers and physicians describe it, which is they're like, it's a hormone. It's a hormone you take in order to change something in your sort of create a change in your body.

But I think that that can create this weird thing where people think about it as being maybe a little different than what how researchers and physicians describe it, which is they're like, it's a hormone. It's a hormone you take in order to change something in your sort of create a change in your body.

Sure. So as you just said, one thing they always say is, there's not enough, which people say in almost every field it feels like.

Sure. So as you just said, one thing they always say is, there's not enough, which people say in almost every field it feels like.

Sure. So as you just said, one thing they always say is, there's not enough, which people say in almost every field it feels like.

We'd love to know more. But I think that this really is an area where, and this is something I heard again and again in interviews, where there is a sense that there is very little research, especially on long-term effects of melatonin. There's kind of two ways to break down melatonin. what the science says, right? What does the science say about whether it works?