Diphenhydramine vs Melatonin for sleep
Short answer: For sleep, more users report improvement with Diphenhydramine — 85% of 59 reports, versus 78% of 915 for Melatonin.
Diphenhydramine has 57 meta-analyses and 298 randomized trials on PubMed; Melatonin has 688 and 1,128.
Based on 116 reports about Diphenhydramine and 1,370 about Melatonin. Not medical advice.
| Diphenhydramine Medication | Melatonin Supplement | |
|---|---|---|
| Users say it helped | 37%helped79 reports · medium confidence | 42%helped726 reports · high confidence |
| Verdict | Mixed | Mixed |
| Research | AResearch: Strong | AResearch: Strong |
| Meta-analyses / RCTs | 57 / 298 | 688 / 1,128 |
| Mainly used for | ||
| Sleep % reporting improvement | 85% (59) | 78% (915) |
| Mood % reporting improvement | — | 32% (37) |
| Energy % reporting improvement | — | 32% (25) |
| Anxiety % reporting improvement | 71% (7) | 44% (16) |
| Focus % reporting improvement | 0% (6) | 38% (8) |
| Common side effects | drowsiness, brain fog, anticholinergic, confusion | drowsiness, vivid dreams, fatigue, depression |
| Typical dose reported | Not listed | 0.5 mg / bedtime |
Considering primary nodes' co-primary efficacy outcomes and head-to-head comparisons, efficacy for sialorrhea is most consistent for the following agents, decreasing from metoclopramide through cyproheptadine, sulpiride, propantheline, diphenhydramine, benzhexol, doxepin, amisulpride, chlorpheniramine, to amitriptyline, and atropine (the latter not for nocturnal sialorrhea). Shared decision-making with the patient should guide treatment decisions regarding clozapine-related sialorrhea.
Mol Psychiatry, 2023 ↗“Benadryl works the best when there is nothing else I can do and I take it a lot but probably not the best way to get sleep.”
Overall, eszopiclone and lemborexant had a favorable profile, but eszopiclone might cause substantial adverse events and safety data on lemborexant were inconclusive. Doxepin, seltorexant, and zaleplon were well tolerated, but data on efficacy and other important outcomes were scarce and do not allow firm conclusions. Many licensed drugs (including benzodiazepines, daridorexant, suvorexant, and trazodone) can be effective in the acute treatment of insomnia but are associated with poor tolerability, or information about long-term effects is not available. Melatonin, ramelteon, and non-licensed
Lancet, 2022 ↗“I have taken it nightly for 19 years. Doses ranging from .1 to 10mg. Right now I take 3mg per night. It helps me sleep.”
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Percentages come from first-hand user reports and are not clinical outcomes. Talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. How we rate