Many children have trouble sleeping at night, but there are times when sleep deprivation can become a major problem requiring some sort of medical treatment. Your doctor may offer various drug solutions, but one natural product in most herbal supply stores that is purported to be a viable option is melatonin. But what is melatonin, and is it safe for your child?
First, melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone produced in the brain by the pineal gland, located in the brain. This gland's primary function is to help control the body's natural sleep cycle by producing more melatonin when it's dark, encouraging an adult to sleep. In fact, melatonin production starts to increase during the afternoon hours, producing the "sleepy" feeling most of us experience later on at night. Exposure to light, be it artificial (as in a lamp) or natural will leech the hormone from our system – encouraging the pineal gland to produce more as the day goes on and so forth. As we get older, this gland will wear out slowly. This causes some older adults to have trouble getting to sleep.
Melatonin has been used for years in pill form to combat jet lag but has now come under scrutiny for helping young children to achieve good sleeping habits. In fact, melatonin isn't available at all in Australia or in the United Kingdom and is only found in the United States as a "dietary substitute," meaning that you do not need to have a doctor's prescription to find it. But as more and more people suffer from various sleep problems, there has been major interest in the small pill.
But wait – where are these pills coming from? After all, you can't harvest melatonin from a person's brain and sell it. In fact, you can purchase bovine or animal grade melatonin at certain online stores. Due to the possibility of a viral infection or some other health danger being accidentally included in the bovine version, most experts do not recommend this. But synthetic melatonin has been created in the laboratory for years and is widely used by frequent air travelers and other people suffering from sleep disorders.
But is it healthy to give to children? Unfortunately, while there is a plethora of information regarding the effects of melatonin on adults, there are few dealing with its effects on children. Most of what is known so far has not been certified as reliable and meeting established standards for medical evaluation. However, those that have stood the scrutiny of medical professionals have found melatonin to be safe for children to take at present, with the caveat that most of these studies have been aimed at a specific group within the category of children – those with neurodevelopmental disabilities. While these studies seemed to indicate that melatonin was safe to take for sleep disorders, very few studies have been produced to date with a focus group of children without any disability.
One study did meet these parameters, and it found that melatonin was found to be more effective in helping the children in the group to fall asleep faster and to have a better quality of sleep, but this was only a four week study with a group of 40 children. Only time will tell if further medical tests will echo this study or only add to the confusion within the medical community.
As with any medication, be it herbal or pharmaceutical, your doctor or pediatrician is the best place to start. Open and frank dialogue regarding your child's sleeping habits may lead to other avenues, or your doctor may recommend a limited trial of this supplement. And, of course, monitor your child's reaction to any and all medications for possible side effects. A very small percentage of adult users of melatonin have reported depression and headaches as a side effect, but most adults have no problem taking melatonin for their sleep disorders.
Being an informed consumer is the best way to help your child in the long run. Discuss all options with your doctor, and you'll find the best and safest way for your child to achieve a good night's sleep.
