Extended Use of Melatonin May Affect Sperm Quality

A study has found that continuous use of the hormone melatonin could affect the quality of sperm. Conducted by researchers at the Sleep Research lab of Technion Institute of Technology (Haifa, Israel), the study was presented at the annual symposium of the Israeli Sleep Research Society.

Melatonin has not been found in the past to affect human reproductive organs. However, the researchers based their study on the findings that men who suffer from pathological sexual underdevelopment have high levels of melatonin in their blood. In the study, healthy young men were prescribed 3 mg of melatonin for three months, and the quality of their sperm was compared to when they took placebo for the same period of time. The researchers found that the sperm of some of the men was compromised in concentration and motion only when they took melatonin.

Because melatonin has minimal side effects, it is increasingly being used in treatments for sleep disorders. The research team warns that adolescents and young men should exercise caution in their use of the hormone to avoid the possibility of melatonin affecting their sperm.




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