Exhausted parents desperate for their children to fall asleep may consider melatonin, but with limited regulation on the over-the-counter hormone, it’s easy to get confused about the correct dosage and how often to give it to your child. And, yes, it’s even possible to overdose on melatonin, so it’s important to use it properly.
Dr. Dan Beardmore, a pediatrician at SSM Health, says melatonin is perfectly safe for kids if it's taken “appropriately and correctly." According to Dr. Beardmore, no studies have shown any side effects from the hormone if it's taken as recommended.
Misuse often stems from the impression that it works just like any other sleep medication. However, the melatonin gummies and liquids won't work if used inappropriately or in certain settings and, consequently, many people start looking for other solutions.
First things first: good sleep hygiene
Dr. Beardmore says the best thing a parent can do to help melatonin do its job is to help their kids maintain proper sleep hygiene. Good routines that promote good sleep may be enough to get results.
"First and foremost," Beardmore says, "We've got to have the appropriate calming settings, getting rid of our screens, getting rid of our tablets, kind of winding down and calming down at the end of the night."
If good sleep hygiene doesn’t work, consider using melatonin which is naturally produced by the body but, for some people, taking it as a supplement can help them fall and stay asleep. Dr. Beardmore says it won't "knock you out" like Benadryl, which is what a lot of people expect.
"Monitoring and managing expectations is really helpful," Dr. Beardmore says. “And emphasizing that the other stuff is arguably far more important than just giving a kid a melatonin at bedtime.”
Dosing and frequency?
Dr. Beardmore said the first thing you should do when considering melatonin for your kids is consult with your pediatrician to make sure other issues aren't the culprit. If your pediatrician says it is okay to take it, Dr. Beardmore says to follow the recommendations on the label and remember that more is not better when it comes to melatonin.
"Your littlest kids might only get one or two milligrams, and that's a great place to start," Beardmore said. "That might be all they need.” No one, he added, should take more than five or six milligrams.
As for frequency, Dr. Beardmore says melatonin is better to take as part of a nightly schedule, not sporadically when kids won't wind down. Based on how melatonin is known to work, sporadic use is not necessarily helpful.
Some melatonin supplements actually have added extra ingredients to generate drowsiness. “A lot of the over-the-counter melatonin have additional agents,” Beardmore said. “So, it's not just going to be a melatonin gummy, it's going to have something else. And that's probably the more likely active ingredient that's making your kid fall asleep on those nights."
Or, he says, you might be giving your child too much and that makes them sleepy.
Melatonin overdose
Dr. Beardmore says melatonin overdoses often happen because kids get into them without realizing that the good-tasting gummies aren't candy. He says that even though a four- or five-milligram gummy isn't much, if a kid eats a few of those three or four times, the dosage quickly adds up. To prevent overdoses, it’s best to keep melatonin in a place that’s out of reach for children.
The symptoms of a melatonin overdose are excessive lethargy, shallow or decreased breathing, or an altered mental state, according to Beardmore. If this happens, it’s considered an emergency and you should call 9-1-1.
