melatonin

IPA/ˌmeləˈtəʊnɪn/
KK[mˌɛlətˈonɪn]IPA/ˌmeləˈtəʊnɪn/

melatonin — noun

1. a natural substance your body makes, mostly at night, to tell you when to feel s

1.nounB2
Definition

a natural substance your body makes, mostly at night, to tell you when to feel sleepy and when to wake up; it is also produced artificially and sold as tablets or liquids to help with sleep problems such as jet lag or insomnia.

Example

Hiro takes a melatonin tablet every night when traveling across time zones for work.

collocation: take a melatonin tablet / pill for jet lag

Antonia's doctor suggested melatonin to help her sleep after working night shifts at the hospital.

use for shift-work sleep disorder

Common collocations
  • produce melatonin
  • secrete melatonin
  • take melatonin
  • melatonin supplement
  • melatonin level
  • melatonin production
Synonyms
  • sleep hormone

    everyday, non-technical term used in health articles and product descriptions

Grammar Patterns

no article when referring to the general substance

Usage Note

As a countable noun it usually refers to the supplement form ('a melatonin', 'two melatonins' — informal). In scientific writing it is always uncountable.

Common Mistakes

I drank melatonin before bed.
I took a melatonin tablet before bed.
melatonin is not a drink; you take it as a pill, gummy, or liquid drop.
Melatonin makes you sleep.
Melatonin helps your body feel ready for sleep.
it regulates the timing of sleep, not the act of sleeping itself like a sleeping pill.

Word family

  • melatonergic
    adjectiveC2
  • melatoninergic
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Melatonin is the precise biochemical term for the hormone that the pineal gland releases to control the body's internal clock. 'Sleep hormone' is a broad, everyday label that appears on supplement bottles and in health blogs; it is less specific because other substances (such as adenosine) also influence sleepiness. 'Circadian rhythm regulator' is a functional description used in scientific contexts but is too long for casual conversation. Use 'melatonin' when speaking about the chemical itself, whether naturally produced or taken as a supplement; use 'sleep hormone' when explaining the idea to someone who may not know the technical word.

melatonin ↗sleep hormonecircadian rhythm regulator

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • melatonin production
  • melatonin levels
  • melatonin supplement
  • take melatonin
  • produce melatonin

Prepositions

  • melatonin for [condition/sleep]
  • melatonin in [the body/the supplement]

Etymology

GreekEnglish

Melatonin is a blend of the Greek word 'melas' (meaning black or dark) and 'serotonin', the name of the brain chemical from which it is made. The 'melano-' root refers to the fact that the hormone was first discovered because it lightens the skin colour of frogs and fish. The name was coined in 1958 by dermatologist Aaron Lerner, who isolated the substance from the pineal gland.

First known use

1958

1958, in the meaning defined above