

It's also hard - impossible, even - to know what else might be in the supplement. The greatest variation is found in the chewable tablets, which are unfortunately the ones children are most likely to take. The AASM warns that the amount of actual melatonin in tablets or liquid can vary, from less than what the label says to much more. There is no oversight on what companies put in the melatonin that parents buy.Īnd what they put in it is exactly the issue. This means it's not regulated by the FDA the way over-the-counter medicines like ibuprofen, acetaminophen, or diphenhydramine are regulated. Over-the-counter melatonin is classified as a dietary supplement. In fact, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) recently issued a health advisory with warnings about its use. That doesn't mean that over-the-counter melatonin is completely safe, however.

While overdoses can lead to excessive sleepiness, headaches, nausea, or agitation, luckily they aren't dangerous most of the time. And indeed, there have been many reports of melatonin overdoses in children. Whenever a lot of people do something, things can go wrong. A health advisory on melatonin supplements for children

It's the second most popular "natural" product parents give to their children after multivitamins. Over the past couple of decades, use of melatonin supplements has increased significantly. But for some people it does help - including some children. If you give your body more of a hormone that helps you sleep, you are more likely to fall asleep, right? This isn't always true, of course for many people, taking extra melatonin does little or nothing. Commercially, it is sold without a prescription as a sleep aid. Melatonin is a hormone that the body makes to regulate sleep. Recent warnings about melatonin call this into question. Not only do parents want their children to get the rest they need, but parents want to get some rest themselves! So it's understandable that when children have trouble falling asleep, many parents reach for melatonin. When it's bedtime, what parents really, really want is for their kids to go to sleep.
