Does melatonin work for jet lag?
It can help. But it depends where you’re going
Drop into any pharmacy in America and you will find jars of melatonin promising to relieve you of dreaded jet lag. There are tablets, pink gummies, potent-looking capsules—whatever appeals. But all you want to know is: does it work?
Explore more
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Does melatonin work for jet lag?”
From the January 11th 2025 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the edition
Satellites are polluting the stratosphere
And forthcoming mega-constellations will exacerbate the problem
AI models are dreaming up the materials of the future
Better batteries, cleaner bioplastics and more powerful semiconductors await
Mice have been genetically engineered to look like mammoths
They are small and tuskless, but extremely fluffy
Is posh moisturiser worth the money?
Don’t break the bank
How artificial intelligence can make board games better
It can iron out glitches in the rules before they go on the market
The skyrocketing demand for minerals will require new technologies
Flexible drills, distributed power systems and, of course, artificial intelligence