Comparison
Melatonin vs Rapamycin
Melatonin
Pineal hormone regulating circadian rhythm. Low doses (0.3-1mg) often outperform higher doses for sleep.
Rapamycin
mTOR inhibitor approved for immunosuppression after organ transplant. Studied off-label for longevity at low intermittent doses.
| Field | Melatonin | Rapamycin |
|---|---|---|
| Category | neuroprotective | neuroprotective |
| Dose range | 0.3–3mg | 5–10mg |
| Half-life | 1h | — |
| Onset | 30min | — |
| Evidence | EVIDENCEA | EVIDENCEA |
| Safety | ●●●●● | ●●○○○ |
| Legal (US) | USOTC | USRx |
| PubMed refs | 28000 | 36000 |
The comparison in plain English
Auto-generated from dataMelatonin and Rapamycin are both in the neuroprotective category respectively. Melatonin Pineal hormone regulating circadian rhythm. Rapamycin mTOR inhibitor approved for immunosuppression after organ transplant.
Bottom line
Melatonin (evidence A, safety 5/5) matches the evidence base of Rapamycin (evidence A, safety 2/5). 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 Rapamycin if
Rapamycin is the better fit when your goal aligns with its mechanism (Selective inhibitor of mTORC1 (mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1), reducing protein synthesis and inducing autophagy) and the dose range (5–10mg) suits your protocol. Half-life is —h.