You can increase melatonin naturally by adjusting your light exposure, sleep routine, and evening habits.
If sleep still will not come easily, melatonin may be part of the picture, as this hormone helps regulate your sleep-wake cycle and can affect how well you drift off and stay asleep.
Key Takeaways
- Better melatonin habits often start with the basics: early daylight, less bright light at night, and more regular sleep and wake times.
- Food can help support melatonin production too, with options like tart cherries, walnuts, milk, eggs, and other foods high in melatonin, but daily habits still tend to matter more.
- If you have cleaned up your routine and sleep still feels off, or daytime tiredness is starting to affect you, it may be time to speak with a GP and look at the bigger picture.
In this blog, we are breaking down what melatonin is, what gets in the way of it, and what you can do to support it naturally.
We will look at food, habits, light exposure, and a few practical changes that can help your body wind down more easily at night.
What Is Melatonin?
Melatonin is a hormone your body makes to help set the timing for sleep. As evening gets darker, melatonin levels start to rise, giving your body a gentle cue that it is time to slow down and get ready for rest.
It works with your circadian rhythm, which is your internal body clock. That means melatonin does not knock you out on command.
Instead, it helps your body recognise when bedtime is approaching. That is why late-night light exposure and irregular routines can throw things off.
How to Naturally Increase Melatonin
According to a 2021 Australian Prescriber review, “Chronic insomnia is the most prevalent sleep disorder and affects 12.2% of Australian adults”, highlighting how common sleep problems are.
Here are some ways to naturally support melatonin production:
1. Get Sunlight Early in the Day
Morning light helps set your body clock. When your eyes get natural light soon after waking, your brain gets the message that it is daytime, which helps you feel more alert and keeps your sleep-wake rhythm on track.
Going outside, even for a short walk or a few minutes with your coffee, helps reinforce that daytime cue. Try to get more daylight through the rest of the day too:
- Work near a window
- Take a walk at lunch
- Step outside when you can
2. Reduce Bright Light Before Bed
Just as morning light helps wake your body up, evening light can keep it from settling down. Bright lights at night, especially from screens and overhead lighting, can push melatonin production back and make it harder to feel sleepy.
Try dimming the lights one to two hours before bed and make your space feel calmer and softer. Warm lamps are usually easier on the eyes than bright ceiling lights, and if you want to go a step further, the best light colour for sleep is usually red or amber rather than cool white light.
3. Stick to a Steady Sleep Schedule
Sleeping in on the weekend can disrupt your body clock by Sunday night. Our bodies like routine, and big swings in your sleep and wake times can make it harder for melatonin to rise when you actually want to sleep.
We can all have different sleep chronotypes, which means your natural sleep pattern may not look the same as someone else’s.
Here’s a quick guide for you to understand how chronotypes work:
| Chronotype | Typical Pattern | Helpful Habit |
| Lion (similar to a morning lark) | Usually gets sleepy earlier and wakes earlier. | Protect your evening routine and avoid pushing bedtime too late. |
| Bear | Follows a more standard day-night rhythm and often feels tired at night. | Stay consistent with both bedtime and morning light exposure. |
| Wolf (similar to a night owl) | Usually gets sleepy later and prefers waking later. | Keep a regular wind-down routine so bedtime does not keep drifting later. |
| Dolphin | Sleeps lightly and may wake easily during the night. | Build a calm pre-bed routine and keep your bedroom dark and quiet. |
4. Cut Back on Caffeine and Alcohol Later in the Day
Caffeine and alcohol can quietly get in the way of better sleep.
If better sleep is the goal, it helps to be a bit more strategic with timing. Try to keep caffeine earlier in the day and go easy on alcohol close to bedtime.
A simple rule of thumb is to stop caffeine by early afternoon and avoid alcohol in the few hours before bed. If you still want something calming in the evening, our guide to detox drinks for better sleep and rest covers a few gentler options.
5. Build a Wind-Down Routine That Lowers Stress
If your mind is still buzzing at bedtime, your body may have a harder time settling into its usual rhythm. A wind-down routine helps create some breathing room between the day you had and the sleep you want.
A warm shower, light stretching, slow breathing, or a few quiet minutes away from your phone can all help. Some people also find that different types of colour noise help take the edge off before bed:
- White noise for a steady, even sound that masks background noise
- Pink noise for a softer, gentler sound, like steady rain
- Brown noise for a deeper, lower sound that feels less sharp
- Green noise for nature-like sound, such as waves or flowing water
6. Eat Foods High in Melatonin
Food can help, but it is not a magic trick. Some foods contain small amounts of melatonin, while others support the nutrients your body uses to make it. Food alone may not fix a sleep problem, but it can still be a helpful part of the bigger picture.
A few foods often linked with melatonin support include:
- Tart cherries and tart cherry juice
- Walnuts and pistachios
- Milk
- Eggs
- Rice and barley
- Tomatoes
- Strawberries
- Fish
- Seeds
Some foods may also help because they contain tryptophan, which is an amino acid your body uses to make melatonin. That is one reason foods like milk, eggs, and poultry often come up in sleep conversations.
7. Make Your Bedroom Cool, Dark, and Sleep-Friendly
Start with the basics. Keep the room cool, block out as much light as you can, and cut down on noise where possible. Invest in blackout curtains, softer lighting, and even an air purifier if allergies tend to stir things up at night.
Comfort matters too. Explore Ecosa’s breathable bedding, a supportive mattress, and pillows can help build your bedroom.
If you want help pulling that together, our guide on how to make your bedroom cosy shares simple ways to create a space that feels more restful.
When to Call a Doctor?
Sometimes the usual sleep advice helps. Sometimes you do all the sensible things and your sleep still refuses to cooperate.
If that keeps happening, or the daytime fallout is getting harder to ignore, it’s worth having a chat with a GP.
Your Sleep Problems Have Lasted for Weeks
Ongoing sleep trouble is less likely to sort itself out without help.
If you are regularly struggling to fall asleep, waking often, or getting up too early and it has been going on for weeks, it’s a good idea to get support.
Tiredness Is Affecting Your Day
Poor sleep is not just about the night itself. If you are feeling worn out, irritable, foggy, or finding it hard to focus during the day, that is a sign the problem is worth looking into.
Persistent grogginess can be part of the picture too, especially if you keep waking up feeling groggy even after what should have been a full night of sleep.
You Notice Signs of Another Sleep Disorder
Some symptoms point to something more than simple poor sleep, such as loud snoring, gasping or choking in the night, or an uncomfortable urge to move your legs at bedtime. These can be signs of other sleep disorders that may need proper assessment.
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