Need help in getting a good night's sleep? You're not alone — nearly 40 per cent of Australian adults aren't getting enough shut-eye.
Vitamin manufacturers, drug companies and even social media influencers are marketing all sorts of sleep supplements promising to solve the problem. But do they work?
Before you reach for the melatonin, magnesium or valerian, here's what the experts have to say.
What to know about melatonin supplements
Geraldine Moses is an adjunct associate professor at the University of Queensland's School of Pharmacy with a particular interest in sleep.
Dr Moses says it's important to know whether the struggle is with sleep onset (falling asleep) or sleep maintenance (staying asleep).
"They're wildly different things in terms of getting decent night's sleep," she says.
One popular supplement is melatonin, a natural sleep hormone.
"We secrete it from our pineal gland at dusk every evening to orchestrate the body's preparation for sleep," Dr Moses says.
In clinical trials, people aged 55 and older who received prolonged-release melatonin gained "modest improvements in quality of sleep and morning alertness over those seen with placebo".
"Despite that, drug companies like to promote melatonin and people like to take melatonin for any kind of sleep problem," Dr Moses says.
In Australia, people over 55 can buy melatonin without a prescription. Everyone else needs a prescription from their doctor.
What about vitamins and herbal sleep supplements?
Magnesium tablets are another popular supplement for sleep.
Dr Moses says although magnesium is crucial for supporting muscle and nerve function and energy production, taking a supplement won't necessarily help you sleep.
While supplementation may help if you have magnesium deficiency or restless legs syndrome, there is limited evidence to support magnesium use for other sleep problems.
Dr Moses adds that companies selling complementary medicines, such as vitamins and herbal sleep remedies, don't really have to back up their claims.
"In terms of [the] Therapeutic Goods Administration, complementary medicines are not required to prove efficacy, as long as they don't contain any prescription drugs or unsafe substance," Dr Moses says.
While there is some research that valerian, a popular herbal sleep aid, can help sleep stress, the effects are small.
"Most studies say there's an improvement in sleep at four to six weeks," Dr Moses says.
"You probably want a good night's sleep tonight … not in six weeks' time, they're not really telling you the onset of benefit might be way off in the future."
Do you really need something to help you sleep?
Whether the supplement is herbal or prescription, Dr Moses says we should really question why we're reaching for a sleep aid.
Leon Lack, an emeritus professor at Flinders University and sleep researcher, agrees.
"The scientific evidence that [supplements] have a real physiological benefit for sleep is very weak and almost non-existent and teasing out a placebo effect from any physiological benefit is very difficult," he says.
Dr Lack suggests that we also need to rethink what a good night's sleep looks like.
"Western society has collapsed our sleep opportunity into an eight-hour period at night-time," he says.
"[That belief] comes from only the experience of last 200 years, not the last 2,000 years, when most people, particularly in rural environments, slept for an-hour-and-a-half during the middle of the day."
Dr Lack says there's also a misconception that we shouldn't toss and turn in our sleep.
A sleep cycle generally lasts about 90 minutes, with usually between three to six rounds each night.
"Those cycles, particularly towards the end of the night, are usually associated with a brief awakening," he says.
"You may have to go to the toilet, or you may just need to turn over to get into a more comfortable position.
"Again, those awakenings should be considered perfectly normal."
Stressing over sleep can make the problem worse
While we need sleep to function, obsessing over how much we get could be doing more harm than good.
Dr Lack says it can create an "insomniac response" and can lead to associating your bed with stress and anxiety.
"That means going to bed and saying to yourself, 'I've got to get to bed and get to sleep now'… you're associating bed with an anxiety response," he says.
If you are waking up during the night, or spending time worrying about getting enough sleep, it's best to see your GP, Dr Lack adds.
"That has to be addressed by changing the relationship with the bed environment, which can be done with behavioural therapy," he says.
This is general information only. For detailed personal advice, you should see a qualified medical practitioner who knows your medical history.