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interventions / Melatonin / migraine frequency

Does Melatonin help migraine frequency? (Grade C evidence)

Melatonin shows a Grade C benefit for migraine frequency: small trials, especially in adults with migraine, prophylaxis suggest a modest effect, low certainty. Dose range commonly 3 mg at night in the trials.

Bottom line. Melatonin shows a Grade C benefit for migraine frequency: small trials, especially in adults with migraine, prophylaxis suggest a modest effect, low certainty. Dose range commonly 3 mg at night in the trials. [1 RCT]

Direction
benefit
Magnitude
Systematic review: melatonin showed promise for migraine prophylaxis, reducing attack frequency in several trials, with a tolerability profile comparable to or better than some standard preventives. The evidence base is small and heterogeneous.
Grade
C
Certainty
low
Clinical meaning
small but potentially useful
Who it applies to
adults with migraine, prophylaxis
Dose / form studied
Safety
uncertain_with_ssri
The one limitation
Sample sizes are small in most included trials; effect sizes may shrink with larger studies.

Reviewed · Evidence last changed · Claim clm_ec_b4-mel-migraine v1

Reviewed by Abhishek Shankar, Methodology reviewer ·

⚠ Safety in context

Grade
C
what does the grade mean?
Certainty
low
what does certainty mean?

Grade C / low: hints of benefit in small trials; a well-run RCT could easily push this to B or to null.

Who it works for

Best-studied in adults with migraine, prophylaxis. Effective doses cluster around commonly 3 mg at night in the trials.

Evidence

StudyDesignCite
Therapeutic role of melatonin in migraine prophylaxis: A systematic review.peer-reviewedPMID:30653130

Why this grade

Reasoning trace

Grade C at low certainty. The grade reflects the direction and size of the effect across the 1 publishable source above; certainty reflects heterogeneity, sample sizes, and design quality. What would move it upward: additional well-powered RCTs in the target population that replicate the effect at similar doses. What would move it down: a large null trial, discovery of publication bias, or a retraction of a keystone study.

Dose & form

Studied intake: commonly 3 mg at night in the trials.

How it stacks up for migraine frequency

Grade history

No grade changes yet. Initial grade assigned; re-reviewed on every 6 months (Grade C+) — next review by . Methodology v1.

Re-review cadence: every 6 months (Grade C+) · next scheduled by · methodology v1.

Frequently asked

How long does Melatonin take to work for migraine frequency?

Trials of Melatonin for migraine frequency typically report effects within 2–4 weeks, though individual response varies. Studies rarely find benefit inside 1 week for chronic outcomes.

What dose was used in studies of Melatonin for migraine frequency?

Studied doses for Melatonin in migraine frequency trials cluster around commonly 3 mg at night in the trials. See the dose block for the specific range and how it varies by form.

Does Melatonin work for migraine frequency if I'm not deficient?

The effect concentrates in adults with migraine, prophylaxis. If your baseline is normal, expect a smaller effect than the trial averages.

Melatonin or the next-best alternative for migraine frequency?

See the compare block above for the head-to-head with the most-cited alternative. Grade + certainty differences matter more than any single trial.

Related

What this is — and is not

Evidence description
Systematic review: melatonin showed promise for migraine prophylaxis, reducing attack frequency in several trials, with a tolerability profile comparable to or better than some standard preventives. The evidence base is small and heterogeneous.
Substrate's interpretation
Grade C at low certainty — the direction and size the studies converge on, as our reading of the corpus.
Discuss with a clinician
If you're on medication or have a condition that changes the calculus, bring the interaction & population blocks above to your pharmacist or prescriber before deciding.
Individualized medical advice
Not provided here or on any Substrate surface (API, agent tool, embed) — see YMYL policy.

Cite this page

Reuse under CC-BY 4.0 with attribution to evidencebased.info.

Plain-text citation
Substrate. Does Melatonin help migraine frequency? (Grade C). https://evidencebased.info/interventions/melatonin/migraine. Updated 2026-07-16.
BibTeX
@misc{substrate_onsmelatoninmigraine,
  author = {Substrate editorial},
  title  = {Does Melatonin help migraine frequency?},
  year   = {2026},
  url    = {https://evidencebased.info/interventions/melatonin/migraine},
  note   = {Grade C, evidencebased.info}
}

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