Advertised as both natural and safe, melatonin can be easily purchased over the counter. In the past decade, this sleep aid became a home staple that adults take to address their insomnia and sometimes give to their kids. But is this sleep remedy as innocuous as previously thought? Medical experts and agencies disagree, as over the past decade melatonin became the leading cause of parent queries to poison control across the US.
What makes melatonin dangerous to kids, and just how serious an issue melatonin ingestion by children is? Read on for a detailed examination.
Melatonin is a hormone that the pineal gland in the brain produces to regulate sleep. With the help of melatonin, the brain regulates the human circadian rhythms (the natural sleep-wake cycles). When melatonin levels drop, we are alert and awake. But when they increase - which usually happens 2 hours before bedtime - we feel sleepy and exhausted.
Towards the tail end of the 20th century, scientists learned to synthesize melatonin in a lab, and it became available on the market in the 1990s. But it wasn’t until the past decade that its popularity skyrocketed, almost tripling in sales from 2016 to 2020.
When it comes in pill form, melatonin is a sleep aid that should be taken an hour or so before sleep. Unlike most sleep medications, melatonin is considered a sleep supplement in the US, which is why it is available without a prescription. This is not always the case in other countries, such as Canada, which regulate melatonin as a medication.
Compared to traditional sleeping pills, melatonin is not considered habit-forming, and it's also available for kids in the form of sweet gummy vitamins. Safer it may be, but melatonin is not a completely benign sleep aid. In fact, overdosing on melatonin can lead to toxicity symptoms, especially in kids.
Related article: Melatonin For Long-Term Use
According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report in 2020, melatonin is a common cause of poison control queries in kids. During the past decade, calls to poison control centers concerning melatonin ingestion in kids increased by 530 percent!
A melatonin overdose can lead to symptoms like headaches, digestive issues, and excessive sleepiness. In the majority of cases, these melatonin overdoses were accidental and didn’t cause any adverse symptoms. However, 14.7% of kids required hospitalization, 1% ended up in intensive care units, and 2 children died following a melatonin overdose.
It is for this reason that, on September 20, 2022, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine issued a notice, advising parents to store melatonin pills away from children, just as you would with any other potentially dangerous medication. The organization also recommends consulting a pediatrician before giving melatonin to kids.
Pediatricians point out that there are many legitimate uses of melatonin for kids. For one, it was found to help kids with autism who have insomnia. “For children with primary sleep-onset insomnia, melatonin can be helpful. It can also be beneficial for children on the spectrum of neurodiversity, or with neurodevelopment differences, who may have difficulty initiating sleep,” states Dr. Janine Zee-Cheng, a pediatrician in Indiana to Huffington Post.
That being said, it is advised that parents consult and pediatrician before giving their kids melatonin, as doses range greatly (from 0.5 to 6 mg) depending on the child’s issue, age, and weight.
Ask your doctor which brand and type of melatonin they recommend too. Since melatonin is classified as a nutritional supplement in the US, it falls within the same regulations as other supplements. First and foremost, this means that producers of melatonin supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Without rigorous supervision, companies can get away with putting various doses of melatonin or even mixing in unrelated ingredients and byproducts. A research article showed that the dose of melatonin in various supplements ranged by 465 percent even different lots of the same supplement.
The same study also reports that nearly 25% of the melatonin supplements they tested also contained serotonin. In high doses, serotonin triggers a condition called serotonin syndrome, the symptoms of which range from shivering and diarrhea to fever, muscle rigidity, and seizures. “Severe serotonin syndrome can cause death if not treated,” states the Mayo Clinic.
First and foremost, avoid leaving any medication, including supplements, within the child’s reach. Melatonin often comes in sweet gummies, which are basically candy for a child. Kids may seek out and eat several of these gummy vitamins and supplements, and this could lead to an overdose. And if you’re considering giving your child any supplement, especially melatonin, consult a pediatrician first.
Apart from that, you can promote healthy sleep habits in the child naturally. First and foremost, know how much sleep your kids require. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), kids require between 8-13 hours of sleep daily, namely:
To promote healthy sleep habits, start a consistent bedtime schedule for the little ones. You can also try limiting their light exposure 2 hours before bed. This is especially important when it comes to blue light from TVs, phones, and other electronic devices, which have been found to suppress the production of melatonin in the body.
Over time, you’ll surely be able to instill those healthy sleep habits in the little ones. And for a little help, here’s a list of articles full of helpful sleep tips:
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