Wake up and read the research.
A poll conducted by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) found that 46 percent of American parents are giving their child under 13 melatonin — even after the organization issued a warning last year against administering the popular sleep aid, unless prescribed by a doctor.
“While melatonin can be useful in treating certain sleep-wake disorders, like jet lag, there is much less evidence it can help healthy children or adults fall asleep faster,” said Dr. M. Adeel Rishi, vice chair of AASM’s Public Safety Committee, in a press release.
“Instead of turning to melatonin, parents should work on encouraging their children to develop good sleep habits,” he said.
Bodies naturally produce the hormone to regulate sleep. Melatonin is widely available over the counter and often advertised as an alternative to medication.
Considered a dietary supplement in the United States, it’s not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration — and that’s where the potential issues arise.
For example, melatonin content can be way higher than advertised per dose, according to another recent study. And since it’s frequently administered in candy-like gummy form or in a chewable flavored tablet, children are prone to overdosing.
Pediatric melatonin ingestions reported to U.S. poison control centers increased by 530 percent between 2012–2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Around 84 percent of the kids from those reports did not present symptoms. However, others had trouble breathing or cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, or central nervous system symptoms.
Over the last 10 years, 4,000 kids were hospitalized, five needed the help of a machine to breathe, and two under the age of 2 died.
Most of the individuals hospitalized for melatonin were teens attempting suicide.
For adults, melatonin is considered safe for short-term use, according to experts at the Mayo Clinic. Consulting with your doctor beforehand is recommended.
AASM’s most recent survey, conducted between March 24 and 29 of 2023, polled 2,005 adults — 1,003 of those surveyed lived with a child under the age of 18.
Fathers were more likely than mothers to dose their child under 13 and parents between the ages of 25 to 34 were the most likely age group to give their child under 13 the supplement.