Melatonin for kids: is a recent study cause for alarm?
Melatonin is a natural hormone produced by the pineal gland that on-sets in the evening and helps prepare your child’s body and mind for sleep. Melatonin also helps to control your body’s sleep-wake cycle and promote consistent sleep times for your child each night. Because this is a hormone that is produced naturally in children and adults, many families feel completely safe using the supplement melatonin in the form of a gummy or a pill, but recent studies might prove otherwise.
If you rely on melatonin to lull your little one into sweet slumber, it’s worth taking a look at this recent study. But, first, let’s talk about how melatonin works exactly.
The levels of melatonin in your body vary based on the time of day and your exposure to light, especially bright lights. During the daytime, when lights are bright, your body doesn’t make as much melatonin whereas at night, when the lights are low and the sun has gone down, your body naturally produces more.
In fact, approximately two hours before you head to bed, you will start to experience elevated levels of melatonin. Melatonin for kids sets the stage for them to experience peaceful sleep and helps to promote longer stretches of sleep overnight.
If your child has a difficult time falling asleep or staying asleep, you may have considered providing them with a melatonin supplement at night. Parents may also use melatonin for kids who have other issues that disrupt normal sleep patterns including:
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Autism
Developmental disabilities
Visual impairments
Because melatonin is a natural hormone produced by the body, there are generally few side effects for children when it is used in the short-term. Many of the side effects are tied to an increase in drowsiness such as dizziness, low blood pressure, and irritability. Children who take melatonin supplements may also have more accidents at night. Other side effects of melatonin include headache, nausea, and upset stomach. But the long-term side effects of melatonin usage are widely unknown, especially in children.
We also know that melatonin disrupts your child’s natural sleep cycle and they can become reliant on the synthetic form of melatonin instead of the natural form produced in their body.
Study Findings
As with most things–from supplements to types of food–you want to ensure that anything you give your child is safe. That’s why the new study from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is making waves.
It revealed that phone calls to poison control centers regarding an overdose of melatonin are becoming shockingly high.
The study looks at the last 10 years (2012 to 2021) and concludes that there has been:
530% increase in calls for unintentional melatonin overdose
4.9% of all calls to the National Poison Data System are related to melatonin
An increase in pediatric hospitalizations due to melatonin with 5 that required mechanical ventilation and 2 deaths
In other words, there is now some debate about the overall safety of melatonin for kids. In many cases, children are unintentionally overdosing because it’s being left in accessible locations. That’s why, if you plan to give melatonin to your kids, make sure it’s stored in a safe location.
Is Melatonin Safe for Kids? What Doctors are Saying
To this point, most people considered this over-the-counter supplement to be relatively safe for consumption even for children. However, many are now wondering whether this is still true with the recent findings from the CDC. What are doctors really saying about the effects of melatonin on the pediatric population?
Lead study author Dr. Karima Lelak is a pediatric emergency physician in Michigan. She states that for “most kids that ingest melatonin, there are no symptoms.”
Other doctors including Dr. Craig Canapari, the Director of the Pediatric Sleep Medicine Program at the Yale School of Medicine, notes that just because it is readily available doesn’t make it safe for everyone, “People have to think as critically about a ‘natural’ supplement as they would a prescribed medication.”
The fact that melatonin overdoses can lead to death in young children should be an important fact for all parents. While it can be helpful to use melatonin to encourage normal sleep patterns, the routine around sleep also needs to be changed. It should not be taken as a sleeping pill.
Preparing Kids for Sleep
The best thing parents can do to combat the potential side effects of melatonin is to set the stage for their children to have the best sleep possible. Many times, this means that you will need to create a more consistent sleep schedule with a strict bedtime routine that tells the body it is time to get ready for bed.
Some examples of how you can structure improved sleep for your little one include:
Setting up a bedtime routine
Eliminating screen time close to bed
Keeping consistent sleep and wake times
Minimizing naps too close to bed
Checking the lights and noise in your child’s sleeping area
Eating the right foods at dinner time and limiting sugar or caffeine
If you are still struggling to put your children to bed and are relying on melatonin, it might be time to reach out to a recognized pediatric and maternity sleep consultant. At My Sweet Sleeper we have experienced consultants that would love to help you and your family get some much needed rest.
Contact us for one-on-one help or check out our online class options to help you take the steps you need to get better sleep with your children…safely.
