It’s after 4 p.m., which is when — thanks to our chronic insomnia — we’re usually battling a late-afternoon energy slump. Typically, the slump prevails. Today, however, we are the well-rested victor and credit for that goes to the small square of chocolate that we ate last night. No ordinary candy, it was a “chocolate pillow” ($7.99 for 10) from Dreamerz, a new line of sleep aids that also includes creamy beverages in Chocolate S’Nores and Vanilla Van Winkle flavors ($2.25 each).

These products contain melatonin, a naturally occurring sleep-inducing hormone that’s secreted by the pineal gland only at night — its nickname is “the hormone of darkness.” The standard dosage in melatonin supplements is 3 milligrams, but researchers at MIT have found that one-tenth that amount will help make you drowsy, so the sleep-deprived San Francisco entrepreneurs behind Dreamerz included only 0.3 milligrams in each serving.

Last night, we followed instructions and gobbled our chocolate pillow at 11 p.m., an hour before bedtime. Bingo! We didn’t even make it to the end of Jon Stewart. Does anyone out there know of a better insomnia cure than a 50-calorie square of chocolate?

Tags: antioxidants, better insomnia, Biology, chronic insomnia, Circadian rhythms, Insomnia, Jon Stewart, late-afternoon energy slump, Medicine, Melatonin, MIT, Physiology, Pineal gland, San Francisco, Sleep, Treatment of bipolar disorder, USD, Van Winkle