Comparison
Melatonin vs Inositol (Myo-Inositol)
Melatonin
Pineal hormone regulating circadian rhythm. Low doses (0.3-1mg) often outperform higher doses for sleep.
Inositol (Myo-Inositol)
Sugar alcohol that functions as a second messenger in cellular signaling. Studied for PCOS, anxiety, and panic disorder.
| Field | Melatonin | Inositol (Myo-Inositol) |
|---|---|---|
| Category | neuroprotective | neuroprotective |
| Dose range | 0.3–3mg | 2000–18000mg |
| Half-life | 1h | — |
| Onset | 30min | — |
| Evidence | EVIDENCEA | EVIDENCEA |
| Safety | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Legal (US) | USOTC | USOTC |
| PubMed refs | 28000 | 3800 |
The comparison in plain English
Auto-generated from dataMelatonin and Inositol (Myo-Inositol) are both in the neuroprotective category respectively. Melatonin Pineal hormone regulating circadian rhythm. Inositol (Myo-Inositol) Sugar alcohol that functions as a second messenger in cellular signaling.
Bottom line
Melatonin (evidence A, safety 5/5) matches the evidence base of Inositol (Myo-Inositol) (evidence A, safety 5/5). Melatonin has the slightly cleaner safety profile. For users new to either, the higher-evidence option is the safer first try.
Choose Melatonin if
Melatonin is the better fit when your goal aligns with its mechanism (Endogenous hormone produced by the pineal gland in response to darkness, signalling the circadian sleep window) and the dose range (0.3–3mg) suits your protocol. Half-life is 1h.
Choose Inositol (Myo-Inositol) if
Inositol (Myo-Inositol) is the better fit when your goal aligns with its mechanism (Functions as a precursor to phosphatidylinositol, a key second messenger system in intracellular signaling) and the dose range (2000–18000mg) suits your protocol. Half-life is —h.