By Nikki Courtney Feb 1, 2021 Pandemics add stress, the world learned in 2020, and we collectively haven’t a good night’s sleep since. Where to turn when you’re tossing and turning? For an unprecedented number of people, the choice has been melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone produced naturally in the body triggered by darkness that signals the circadian rhythm it’s time to sleep. It doesn’t cause sleep so much as prepare a body to enter a state of sleep, and supplements have become a popular remedy for jet lag and sleeplessness, especially during Covid. Nielsen data shows that in 2020 consumers spent more than $825 million on melatonin supplements. That’s a 42.6% increase compared to consumption in 2019.