Melatonin

Melatonin is the hormone that tells you to go to sleep. It’s like your mother when you were young, except it doesn’t have an outrageous fantasy involving Gay Byrne.

Your melatonin receptors calcify over time, preventing you from getting enough of the hormone. That is why melatonin supplements are a big hit with older people, almost as popular as Nationwide or complaining about their lives while queuing to board yet another flight to Fuerteventura.

The bad news is you can’t get supplements over the counter here. The good news is melatonin is sold as a dietary aid in the US. Anyone who has squeezed next to an American on a plane knows they can do with all the help they can get on the diet front. That said, it isn’t regulated in the US, so be careful if you decide to bring back a bucketful.

Its free availability is controversial now, with a lot of literature discussing the dangers of self-medicating and possible side effects. Mind you, one of the main side effects is listed as fatigue; that’s hardly going to scare off anyone who wants to get some sleep.