Melatonin and Kids
What is Melatonin?
Melatonin is a hormone secreted from the pineal gland in the brain. Its production begins in response to the onset of darkness and its role is to settle your body and mind down when it’s time to sleep.
This is something our bodies do naturally, and have been doing for thousands of years… up until the invention of the light bulb…and television…and smart phones…and computers.
We are so flooded with artificial light nowadays that it can get pretty difficult for our brains to determine when night is actually coming – and this interferes with melatonin production, which then in turn, messes with our body clocks and contributes to difficulties with falling asleep.
One of the keys points here though is that melatonin is NOT a hormone that puts you to sleep. All it does is set the stage within your body for sleep to occur by putting you into a state of quiet wakefulness (as Dr. Luis Buenaver explains it).
In some cases, like after experiencing jet-lag or for those who are shift workers, using a melatonin supplement for a few days can help to reset the body clock if it was thrown out of whack. However, this is not a solution for sleep issues. My first piece of advice to people having trouble falling sleeping is to turn off their screens for a couple hours before bed, turn down the house lights, and stick with a consistent bedtime routine. Let your body know that it’s time for sleep, and that’ll do almost all of the legwork for you. (Side note: people with psychological or physical conditions that inhibit sleep should definitely consult with their doctors.)
Melatonin and Kids
When it comes to kids, all of this still applies. Newborns are an exception as they don’t start producing melatonin until they’re about 2 months old. But after that, their body clock is established.
So now we get to the main question: “Will giving my child melatonin help them sleep through the night?”
My short answer: “No”.
It might help them GET to sleep in the beginning of the night, but it will not help them stay asleep.
And by the way, this isn’t just my opinion. This is the general consensus of sleep specialists, researchers, and doctors. The National Sleep Foundation has found that, “...when scientists conduct tests to compare melatonin as a “sleeping pill” to a placebo (sugar pill) most studies show no benefit of melatonin.” In addition to this, melatonin is a hormone naturally produced in our body, so having an excess of it can lead to some side effects – drowsiness, nausea, abdominal pain, and daytime laziness just to name a few.
I’m not knocking the use of melatonin – it definitely has a time and place, and has been proven to help in those cases. And you know what, if it’s the placebo effect at work – that’s fine too. What’s important is they’re getting the sleep they need. But when it comes to children, I think it’s essential for us as parents to teach our littles the skills they need to fall asleep and stay asleep on their own.
And the good news is, kids and sleep go together like salt and pepper. The need a LOT of sleep, and for a short period of their lives, everything in their body is working together to ensure they get it. All they need from us is some guidance in the right direction so they can develop the ability to get to sleep and stay asleep independently.
Giving them any kind of sleep aid like melatonin or benedryl is not the answer. Just like learning any other skill, it takes time and practice. Just like there is no supplement you can take to teach you how to play an instrument, do complex math, or improve in volleyball – sleep is also a skill that needs to be developed. And once it is, it will come easily and naturally.
So before you reach for the melatonin, try establishing a predictable and consistent routine, shut down the TV several hours before bed, and work on having your kiddo fall asleep without any form of outside help.
I don’t make promises often, but here, I can certainly guarantee that the results will be better than anything you’ll get from a pill. And as a bonus – it can last them a lifetime!
If this is something you need help with, I got you – book a free 15 minute call now!