What Happens To Your Body When You Take Melatonin And Ibuprofen At The Same Time – Health Digest

Melatonin and ibuprofen are two commonly used over-the-counter choices for temporary relief. Melatonin is known as a sleep supplement, but it doesn’t work as a sedative like a sleep aid. Instead, melatonin helps your body recalibrate your sleep/wake cycle. Unlike painkillers like opioids that block pain receptors, the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) ibuprofen relieves pain by blocking enzymes that produce prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are what cause pain and inflammation in your body.

While it’s dangerous to take prescription sleep aids and painkillers together, it’s safe to take melatonin and ibuprofen at the same time. Drugs.com says there are no potential interactions when taking these two drugs together. However, be sure to check the label of your ibuprofen, because the “PM” versions of these NSAIDs have diphenhydramine to help you sleep. Taking a PM version of ibuprofen with melatonin causes a moderate interaction, potentially causing more drowsiness, dizziness, and impairment of thinking.

Interestingly, ibuprofen might affect your natural melatonin levels. In an older study in Physiology and Behavior, taking ibuprofen reduced people’s body temperature (which can help with sleep) but reduced their melatonin levels. In this way, taking melatonin and ibuprofen can help you sleep while relieving pain.

If you’re suffering from an injury or have chronic pain, you know how hard it can be to sleep. Sometimes you can get a comfortable position for a while, but as you nod off, your body moves and the pain comes back. Yet NSAIDs could interrupt your sleep, according to an older study in Physiology and Behavior. Both aspirin and ibuprofen were linked with more frequent awakenings and reduced sleep efficiency (the percentage of time you spend in bed actually sleeping). Ibuprofen also made it more difficult to get to sleep. An NSAID with a sleep aid is an option, but it can make you feel groggy the next morning. Besides, sleep aids like diphenhydramine can have major interactions with other prescription drugs.

Melatonin can be a good adjunct to your NSAID. Women who experience painful periods (dysmenorrhea) might turn to melatonin or meloxicam (a prescription NSAID that works similarly to ibuprofen) to help them sleep. In a 2018 study in the Archives of Women’s Mental Health, both melatonin and meloxicam improved their sleep efficiency. Both drugs also shortened the time to get to sleep while also improving their pain symptoms. The study found that melatonin worked better than meloxicam.

While melatonin and ibuprofen can be short-term fixes for pain-related sleep problems, you’ll have to watch taking either drug for longer periods. A headache or temporary injury might have you take an occasional ibuprofen, but you shouldn’t take any more than 1,200 milligrams within 24 hours unless you’re instructed by a doctor. The Arthritis Foundation advises against taking ibuprofen every day for more than 10 days without a doctor’s approval. Taking ibuprofen longer increases your risk of side effects such as stomach bleeding and other gastrointestinal problems. Remember that ibuprofen also has major interactions with 97 drugs, according to Drugs.com, so be sure to check to see if taking ibuprofen is a safe option for you.

Although melatonin is a supplement, it can interact with brexanolone, which is used to treat postpartum depression. Smoking can reduce your natural melatonin levels, and caffeine can boost melatonin levels, so be careful about using these substances while taking a melatonin supplement. If you’re experiencing chronic insomnia, you might want to consult with your doctor or a sleep specialist rather than taking melatonin long-term. Both the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the American College of Physicians say that more research is needed to determine the effectiveness of melatonin on chronic insomnia (via the National Institutes of Health). Long-term use of melatonin is safe, but the Sleep Foundation says it’s possible that supplementing with melatonin could interfere with your body’s ability to produce melatonin.