Current pharmacological treatments for insomnia include benzodiazepine and non-benzodiazepine hypnotics targeting γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) A receptors, as well as agonists of the melatonin receptors MT1 and MT2. Melatonin, temazepam and zolpidem are thought to exert their effect through different mechanisms of action, but whether this leads to differential effects on electroencephalogram (EEG) power spectra during sleep in middleaged people is currently not known. To establish whether the effects of prolonged-release melatonin (2 mg) on the nocturnal sleep EEG are different to those of temazepam (20 mg) and zolpidem (10 mg). Sixteen healthy men and women aged 55-64 years participated in a double-blind, placebocontrolled, four-way cross-over trial. Nocturnal sleep was assessed with polysomnography and spectral analysis of the EEG. The effects of single oral doses of prolonged-release melatonin, temazepam and zolpidem on EEG slow-wave activity (SWA, 0.75-4.5 Hz) and other frequencies during nocturnal non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep were compared. In an entire night analysis prolonged-release melatonin did not affect SWA, whereas temazepam and zolpidem significantly reduced SWA compared with placebo. Temazepam significantly reduced SWA compared with prolonged-release melatonin. Prolonged-release melatonin only reduced SWA during the first third of the night compared with placebo. These data show that the effects of prolonged-release melatonin on the nocturnal sleep EEG are minor and are different from those of temazepam and zolpidem; this is likely due to the different mechanisms of action of the medications.