Ingredient Evidence Review
Melatonin (microdose)
Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine)
Last updated 2026-05-19 · 3 primary citations
Mechanism
Melatonin is the hormone your brain releases at night to tell your body it's time to sleep. Shift workers need to override that signal — sleeping during the day, when their natural production is suppressed. A microdose mimics the natural release pattern; a megadose blunts the body's own clock.
Why we use it
Most people taking melatonin take far too much — and pay for it long-term as their body stops making its own. We dose at the physiological level (matching what your body produces) because chronic shift work already disrupts the system. Adding more disruption is exactly the wrong intervention.
How we dose it
Hericea uses 0.3 mg per serving (per Post-Shift packet). The clinical trial range that anchors this dose is 0.3–0.5 mg/day.
0.3 mg of melatonin — a true microdose. The 3–10 mg pills sold in drugstores are 10–30× higher than what your body actually makes, and that excess shuts down your natural production over time. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine specifically recommends this lower dose for shift work.
Quality & sourcing
Pharmaceutical-grade melatonin.
Standard pharmaceutical melatonin.
Cautions
- consult physicianConsult physician if on hormone-sensitive medication.
Primary literature
Zhdanova IV et al. (2001)
J Clin Endocrinol MetabRCT (dose-response) · 30 people · Adults 50+ with age-related insomnia
0.3 mg of melatonin restored normal sleep to insomnia patients; the 3 mg dose caused side effects and lingering daytime melatonin.
The single most important paper — showed the supplement-store dose is actually worse than the microdose for the same outcome.
PMID 11600532
Brzezinski A et al. (2005)
Sleep Med RevComprehensive review
Reviewed how melatonin's circadian-shifting effect varies by dose and timing.
Single source for the broader case that less melatonin works better — central to our microdose rationale.
PMID 15649737
Liira J et al. (2014)
Cochrane Database Syst RevCochrane meta-analysis
Reviewed all interventions for shift-work sleep — melatonin improved day-sleep duration most reliably.
Highest tier of evidence for melatonin specifically in shift workers (not generic insomnia).
PMID 25113164