Thursday 29 September 2022 04:29 PM Experts advise against giving your restless child melatonin over poisoning fears trends now
Parents are being warned against giving children melatonin following a surge in accidental poisonings.
Experts said there is no evidence the over-the-counter supplement helps them get to sleep and they have no idea what is actually in many products.
Our bodies naturally produce the hormone melatonin to fall asleep by helping to regulate the circadian clocks that control our sleep/wake cycles.
Melatonin supplements may improve your sleep if you have disrupted circadian rhythms due to certain life circumstances such as jet lag or working the night shift.
But they should never be the first tool parents of restless children reach for, according to sleep scientists.
Increasingly, the supplement is being sold in gummy or chewable form with appealing flavors such as fruit punch, a feature that experts warn make them enticing to children.
“The availability of melatonin as gummies or chewable tablets makes it more tempting to give to children and more likely for them to overdose,” said Dr. M. Adeel Rishi, vice chair of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
But evidence that the sleep aid can help children with insomnia is scant and experts advise parents to work closely with a pediatrician before giving it to a child.
Pediatric melatonin ingestions reported to poison control, 2012-2021
“Parents should talk directly with their child’s health care professional before giving their children melatonin products," Rishi added. "Often, behavioral interventions other than medication are successful in addressing insomnia in children.”
A store shelf of melatonin supplements formulated for children
While it can help insomniacs fall asleep faster and stay asleep, experts caution that less is more. Take 1 to 3 milligrams two hours before bedtime, according to Johns Hopkins sleep expert Luis F. Buenaver.
It has become the go-to prescription-free tablet for people struggling to sleep and the market is booming. Sales increased from $285 million in 2016 to $821 million in 2020, according to federal reporting.
The supplement is also ubiquitous. A 30-pill
