Is Melatonin Safe For Toddlers

Melatonin Dosage By Weight For A Child

Your best bet? Speak to your childs pediatrician first about your concerns regarding your childs sleep issues and using melatonin. If you get the thumbs up then start with the lowest dosage. The general advice is to take melatonin 30 to 90 minutes before bedtime. In doing so, many children will respond to a lower dose , according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. And most children who do benefit from melatonin don’t need any more than 3 to 6 mg.4

Safety In Toddlers & Young Children

Dr. Maida Chen, who leads the Pediatric Sleep Center summarizes this well, There have only been a few studies to look at long-term melatonin use and associated effects, but some sleep specialists consider melatonin safe, particularly for occasional short-term use. Often the child has a chronic sleep disorder and melatonin is covering up the underlying symptoms. It can be a slippery slope for families because continuing use of melatonin can delay obtaining more appropriate treatment for the underlying sleep disorder.

Generally, research finds that supplemental melatonin is not tremendously effective in children who arent diagnosed with underlying ADHD or ASD, though some kids get benefit in falling asleep more quickly. I sincerely believe that many young children getting melatonin would do better with improved consistent bedtime routines, strict rules about no emitting devices for 1 hour prior to bedtime . For any child having trouble falling asleep, work to avoid screens and/or dim the screen light in the hours before bedtime.

Possible Risks Of Melatonin

Melatonin may be safe for children when used in low doses, but the warnings should not be ignored. Most health experts consider the product to be risky for use among most toddlers. The benefits of the product are only worth it when a toddler has sleep problems that significantly disrupt his health or affect development. Medication should only be the last option after drug-free treatment has failed. Establishing a safe dosage is essential but only on the advice of a physician. Proper studies are not available but health experts warn that when used on toddlers, melatonin can trigger possible side effects like seizers.

Apart from helping with sleep patterns, melatonin helps to reduce body temperature. This sends a sleep signal to the brain. It has been used successfully to treat a number of children who have sleep disorders. Nevertheless, it is important to understand that melatonin doesnt work the same way for everyone. The timing of the dose is vital for its effectiveness. Ultimately, good sleep habits and routine are the most effective medicine.

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What Are Melatonins Side Effects On Kids

Potential, though mild, side effects of melatonin use in children include agitation, headache, dizziness and drowsiness. While it is not known for sure and more research on the long term use of melatonin in children is needed, its important to remember that melatonin is a hormone, and, as such, there is a possibility that it may affect hormonal development, including puberty and menstrual cycles.2

The Bottom Line

If your child occasionally has trouble falling asleep, instilling better sleep habits and routines might be in order. But if your child experiences significant difficulty falling asleep, melatonin might benefit, especially when its used in combination with behavioral interventions and healthy sleep practices.5

Most importantly, talk with your childs pediatrician before giving them melatonin to make sure its right for them, to understand the proper dosage, and to rule out any underlying health issues.

Continue to check back on the Nature Madeblog for the latest science-backed articles to help you take ownership of your health.

This information is only for educational purposes and is not medical advice or intended as a recommendation of any specific products. Consult your health care provider for more information.

References

1 Mayo Clinic. Melatonin. March 30, 2018. Accessed on: September 23, 2020.

Is Melatonin Safe For Kids A Look At The Evidence

1 ).

Unfortunately, poor sleep can affect a childs mood and ability to pay attention and learn. It has also been linked to health issues such as childhood obesity .

This is why some parents consider giving their children melatonin, a hormone and popular sleep aid.

Though its considered safe for adults, you may wonder if your child can safely take melatonin.

This article explains whether kids can safely take melatonin supplements.

Melatonin is a hormone produced by your brains pineal gland.

Often referred to as the sleep hormone, it helps your body get ready for bed by setting your internal clock, also called the circadian rhythm .

Melatonin levels rise in the evening, which lets your body know its time to head to bed. Conversely, melatonin levels start to fall a few hours before its time to wake up.

Interestingly, this hormone plays a role in other functions besides sleep. It helps regulate your blood pressure, body temperature, cortisol levels and immune function (

In the US, melatonin is available over-the-counter at many drug and health food stores.

People take melatonin to cope with a variety of sleep-related issues, such as:

• Insomnia
• Sleep disorders related to mental health
• Delayed sleep phase syndrome
• Circadian rhythm disorders

However, in other parts of the world, including Australia, New Zealand and many European countries, melatonin is only available with a prescription.

Many parents wonder if melatonin supplements can help their child fall asleep.

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Melatonin Dosage For Kids

Always talk to your child’s doctor before giving them melatonin. They can help determine if the supplement is necessary, and they can also advise on dosage and timing. Most experts will recommend starting with a low doseusually around 1 to 2 milligrams for kids ages 4 to 6 and 2 to 3 milligrams for ages 6 to 12. Melatonin should be used with other behavioral interventions and for as short a time as possible.

Because melatonin could mess up sleep schedules when taken at the wrong time, you shouldn’t give it to kids in the middle of the night. Also, while the supplement can aid kids who have major difficulty falling asleep, it may not help any child stay asleep.

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Why You Shouldn’t Give Your Child Melatonin

Putting your child to sleep may be your favorite routine or your worst nightmare depending on your kids inclination to sleep! Often, you are exhausted, your child refuses to sleep or sleeps fitfully through the night and you are tempted to give them something.

Many parents consider over-the-counter medications to help with their kid’s 40 winks, but is that really a good idea? Most doctors do not agree, and their reasons are fair! Although doctors prescribe melatonin in kids who have insomnia along with autism spectrum disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder , melatonin should not be used in the following cases:

• Healthy children without sleep problems to promote restful sleep
• Teenagers in an attempt to force sleep onset to accommodate early school start times

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What Is The Right Dosage For Kids

More is not better, especially when it comes to giving supplements to children. Keep in mind that the studies that have shown the potential effectiveness of melatonin for kids used very low amounts of the hormone only in micrograms, to be exact. In comparison, most melatonin supplements are available in doses measured in milligrams.

A small dose of melatonin for adults or the smallest dose available already goes a long way towards carrying them off to dreamland. Children weigh much less than adults, so they will need even lower doses to help trigger sleepiness.

The purity and quality of the product is very important to ensure that the correct dosage is administered. And it is always best to work with a pediatrician, as doctors will be the most qualified to determine the appropriate dosage for a child. Because a melatonin supplement is taken orally, it should be given two to four hours before bedtime to give the body adequate time to absorb the substance.

Healthcare experts also recommend that children should take a break from melatonin after 3 to 6 months of treatment, and they do not advise giving kids melatonin for a longer period unless it is prescribed by their pediatrician.

Is Melatonin Safe For Babies

Melatonin is not recommended for infants. Melatonin concentrations are quite low in babies three months and younger, and their circadian systems are still developing. At this time, there are no long-term studies on melatonin use in babies.

If your infant struggles to sleep, talk to your pediatrician. They can help you identify possible causes and develop a treatment plan.

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Melatonin Is Not Meant For Kids

In her sleep consulting practice, McGinn has met babies who have been on melatonin from as young as four months of age. But, of the more than 500 melatonin-containing products licensed for sale in Canada, only two are licensed for teenagers , and there arent any approved for kids under 12.

Cummings, who does recommend melatonin to some of his pediatric patients as a treatment for managing insomnia, says the average kid under five would not have developed the type of sleep disorder where melatonin could be useful, and therefore they wouldnt need it.

Side Effects Of Melatonin

Melatonin is considered relatively safe for short-term use and has few risks. However, some children who take melatonin supplements may experience mild symptoms. These symptoms may include bedwetting, drowsiness, headaches, and agitation.

Currently, there is little research on the long-term effects of melatonin use in children. Some experts question if melatonin, because it is a hormone, can affect other hormonal development in adolescents. Further research must be conducted to more clearly understand the long-term effects of melatonin on children.

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All Things Considered Should I Give Melatonin To My Child

Only you can make the decision as to whether or not to give a child melatonin. With that in mind, consider 4 things when trying to make a decision about kids and melatonin.

1. Overdosing: No one can overdose on melatonin. Not even kids. Its a hormone naturally produced by the body, and no one can overdose on melatonin like they can on other sleep aids.2. Dosage: When choosing a starting dose, think small. Giving a child as little as .1 milligram of melatonin can help him or her fall asleep. Start small and then add to the dosage if youre not getting the results that you want.3. Threshold: Pause before going beyond 1 milligram in a single dosage. After starting small, you may want to add to the dose, but, as noted above, doses of more than 1 milligram have been associated in some cases with seizures.4. Guidance: The best place to get guidance about melatonin and children is from a pediatrician. If you have any questions about melatonin and whether or not its a good sleep aid for your child, ask his or her pediatrician.

Considering that a child cannot overdose on melatonin, the greater concern is the potential long-term effects. If used too often, melatonin supplements can stunt the bodys ability to develop melatonin naturally which is the last thing you want for a child. Also, a childs body is developing in so many ways, and you need to take added precautions before introducing supplements.

Teach Your Child Healthy Bedtime Habits

Whether or not you choose to give your child melatonin as a sleep aid on a limited basis, having a regular bedtime routine should make it easier for your child to fall asleep.

Try these ideas:

• establish a set bedtime, so your child expects to go to sleep at the same time every night
• have a set wakeup time each morning, so your child is tired at bedtime
• put away smartphones and tablets an hour before bed, and keep devices out of the bedroom
• create a relaxing bedtime routine bathing, reading and listening to music are good options
• keep your childs bedroom cool and dark
• expose your child to bright light in the morning

If your child often has trouble falling asleep, talk to the pediatrician about possible causes of the problem, rather than giving your child melatonin gummies regularly.

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How Much Melatonin Is Too Much

Melatonin doses for adults range from 0.5 milligram to 5 milligrams taken about an hour before bedtime.

The recommended appropriate dosage of melatonin for children varies among experts. There is no standardized melatonin dosage chart by age or weight in the United States.

Additionally, there are no set guidelines for what time or how frequently children should take melatonin. Consult your pediatrician to determine what dosage of melatonin and timing is right for your child.

What Is Melatonin What Does Melatonin Do

Melatonin is a hormone which is naturally produced by the pineal gland in your brain. It is both a chronobiotic agent, meaning that it regulates your circadian or body clock and a hypnotic, meaning that at higher doses it may induce sleep. Melatonin is usually used for its hypnotic effect, but it does not have this effect in everyone. Only the chronobiotic effect occurs in all individuals.The natural rise of melatonin levels in the body 1-3 hours before sleep onset is known as the dim light melatonin onset . This is the signal involved in body clock scheduling of sleep and corresponds to the end of the wakefulness signal produced by the circadian system. Children with insomnia may be given melatonin after their scheduled bedtime passes what this means is that their bodies are not yet ready for sleep. This is one reason why bedtime fading can be so effective for some children. The doses used clinically greatly exceed the amount secreted in the body.

There are a few things to be aware of:

Heres a short video I put together to explain how when you give the melatonin dose really matters. .

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How Does It Work

Besides helping to set the circadian clock, Melatonin also helps reduce the body temperature, which is another signal to the brain that it is time for sleep. Contrary to popular belief, it does not cause drowsiness. Melatonin has been used successfully for a number of children with sleep problems associated with autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, epilepsy and migraine headaches.

How Much Melatonin Can I Give My Child

Melatonin usually comes in 3 mg or 5 mg tablets. Five milligrams is considered a relatively high dose for a young person most children take a 3 mg or even a 1 mg dose.

In a study on melatonin for kids with ADHD, sleep onset advanced by 27 to 48 minutes with melatonin, and sleep duration increased by as much as 62 minutes.7 The children, between 6 and 12 years old, were given either a 3 mg or 6 mg dose of melatonin depending on their weight.

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How Effective Is Melatonin For Sleep Problems In Children

The overall effects of melatonin for children include falling asleep more quickly and an increase in sleep time. Like all medicines used to help children fall asleep, there is fairly limited information available. This means that most studies have small groups followed for short periods of time. Furthermore, melatonin not regulated as a pharmaceutical in the U.S. Thus, there is no large pharmaceutical company bankrolling larger and long-term studies . Rather it is regulated as a food supplement by the FDA. For a terrific review, including dosing recommendations, I highly recommend this article by Bruni et al.

What Are Potential Side Effects Of Melatonin

Research thus far has found short-term melatonin use to be safe for adults and children without any serious side effects. Short-term use of melatonin is generally considered to be very safe for kids, according to Levinson, but the following side effects can occur:

• Daytime drowsiness.

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What Should Parents Be Concerned About

The parenting website of the A.A.P. has warned of concerns that melatonin might affect puberty, but so far there isnt any solid evidence of this.

In a 2019 review of recent studies about melatonin and puberty, the authors found it difficult to draw strong conclusions. Only a few studies have examined the topic on a long-term basis, and these had small sample sizes, incomplete follow-up and poor measures of pubertal timing, the authors said.

There are other concerns, too. Side effects can include morning sleepiness, nightmares, agitation, headaches and increased urination at night. And melatonin could interact with certain medications. But in general, Dr. Owens said, its pretty well tolerated among her patients.

More worrisome is the lack of strict regulation of melatonin products. A 2017 study tested 31 different melatonin supplements and found most of the supplements did not have the same amount of melatonin listed on their labels. In addition, 26 percent of the supplements contained serotonin, a hormone that can have harmful effects even at relatively low levels.

I was so shocked by that, and it completely changed my recommendations to families, Dr. Owens said. She now recommends the brand Natrol because it has been used in clinical trials that evaluated its purity.