I recently read an interesting article that came out on Medscape that was written by Philip J. Gregory, PharmD. (Melatonin for Migraine Headache Prophylaxis - Medscape - Apr 30, 2018.) In his article, he describes a brief review of current research for using the supplement melatonin to help with migraine headaches. Melatonin is a commonly used supplement that is usually recommended for people who have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, but research shows that it may also help with headaches. It is found that patients who suffer from migraines many times have lower nighttime melatonin levels than those who do not have migraines. By taking melatonin before bed, studies show that it may produce a reduction in the frequency and intensity of migraine headaches.
The most rigorous study Dr. Gregory reviewed (Gonçalves AL, Ferreira AM, Ribeiro RT, Zukerman E, Cipolla-Neto J, Peres MF. Randomised clinical trial comparing melatonin 3 mg, amitriptyline 25 mg and placebo for migraine prevention. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2016;87:1127-1132), compared the therapeutic effects of taking 3mg melatonin to taking 25mg amitriptyline at bedtime for 12 weeks. There were 196 adults who took part in this study. These adults had a history of migraine headaches occurring two to eight times per month. The results of this study demonstrated that in the group taking melatonin, 54.4% of patients had a >50% reduction in migraine frequency, compared to 39.1% in the amitriptyline group. Both the melatonin and amitriptyline groups also significantly reduced their migraine headache intensity and duration compared to placebo.
In the vast majority of people, melatonin is a very well tolerated supplement with the most common side effect being sleepiness (of course). It is fairly inexpensive and readily available at most pharmacies. For those who suffer from migraine headaches, it may be worth trying for 3-4 months to see if it can help reduce the frequency and intensity of migraines. As with any supplement or medication, be sure to talk with your doctor or pharmacist about any contraindications to taking melatonin.
-Dr. Levi