Melatonin Risks for Children

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland, a small cone-shaped structure in the brain. It is available over the counter in the United States as a dietary supplement. It is a powerful antioxidant but is also commonly used as a sleep aid.

Use

• Melatonin is used to treat chronic insomnia and sleep disturbance in children with developmental disabilities or psychiatric issues such as autism, ADHD, visual disturbances or neurological injury

Research on Efficacy in Children

• Most of the research on children and melatonin has focused on children with developmental, neurological or psychiatric disabilities. Research on the use of melatonin in children has demonstrated that it decreases the time required to fall asleep, increases sleep duration, decreases sleep interruptions and improves daytime mood and behavior.

Adverse Effects for Children

• Most studies indicate there are few adverse effects for melatonin. When doses are greater than 8 milligrams per day there has been some occurrence of headaches, excessive sedation and temporary depression. One study by S.H. Sheldon indicated that three of six children with a seizure disorder had worse seizures following administration of melatonin. Though this result has not been replicated in other studies caution should be exercised when there is an underlying seizure disorder.

Contraindications

• Children should not take melatonin if they suffer from severe allergies or autoimmune diseases or have immune system cancers such as lymphoma or leukemia. Healthy children should not take melatonin because they already should have sufficient quantities of melatonin produced naturally by their pineal gland. Research on the efficacy of melatonin in healthy children has not been conducted.

Interactions with Prescription Medications

• Melatonin is reported to decrease the effectiveness of the medication nifedipine in reducing hypertension.

Dosing

• Children with sleep disturbance should start on 2.5 to 5 mg. and then increase up to 7.5 mg. Melatonin should be administered 30 to 60 minutes before sleeping.