Melatonin for Treatment of Sleep Disorders: Summary

Studies suggest that sleep disorders affect 50 to 70 million Americans, representing approximately 20 percent of the population. A sleep disorder exists whenever a lower quality of sleep results in impaired functioning or excessive sleepiness. Insomnia, literally “inability to sleep,” has various etiologies and is the most common sleep disorder, affecting between 6 to 12 percent of the adult population. In addition to the adult population, difficulties initiating and maintaining sleep are very common in children, affecting about 15 to 25 percent of this population.