A melatonin supplement to aid sleep is not a good choice for kids

Long Road to Dreamland

With news anchors like this, who needs facts?

A local TV station here in Baltimore recently featured an investigation into the use of melatonin supplements as a sleep aid for children.

Leading into the video, the anchor referred to melatonin as an “herbal remedy.”

Oh brother. Here’s a tip: Don’t ask your herbalist for a melatonin extract.

Melatonin is not an herb, it’s a hormone. Kind of a big difference! And at the end of each day your pineal gland provides just the right amount of melatonin to help your body relax and drift off to sleep.

But confusing a hormone with an herb is not really a problem. The real problem with melatonin supplements is far more complicated – for both kids and adults.

Magic trick

Some kids just won’t calm down at bedtime. So who could blame busy parents for using a supplement that seems to work like magic?

In the WBAL-TV report, one father describes the nightly melatonin effect on his 6-year-old ADHD daughter as “unbelievable.” He says, “Within 30 to 40 minutes, she lies down very comfortably, she sleeps through the night and she wakes up in the morning. She’s doing better in school as a result of it.”

Hard to argue with results like that. Especially with a supplement that’s touted as safe and “natural.”

But there are two red flags here that make melatonin a tricky choice for children who can’t sleep.

1) ADHD. If a child is diagnosed with ADHD it might seem logical that the “disorder” is the cause of nighttime restlessness. But many parents aren’t aware that most ADHD drugs are stimulants. Two common side effects listed on the Ritalin website: nervousness and “trouble sleeping.”

2) Nightly use. When I asked HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., for his take on this issue, he zeroed right in on a huge drawback. Dr. Spreen: “The problem, of course, is that old ‘feedback inhibition’ thing – the body will stop making melatonin if it doesn’t have to (which it doesn’t, if you take a supplement every night).”

But Dr. Spreen does have a recommendation for a genuinely safe sleep aid supplement for kids: tryptophan. This is the amino acid in turkey that supposedly causes Thanksgiving Day drowsiness. In fact, chicken actually contains higher levels of tryptophan than turkey. Other tryptophan-rich foods include eggs, fish, cheese, peanuts, and pumpkin seeds.

Dr. Spreen: “A tryptophan supplement relaxes without any drug fog or toxicity. However, kids with sleep problems almost always have allergies that are making them hyper and unable to shut down and sleep. Before trying any supplements I would check out the child for hidden food allergies.”

Kids of all ages

Adult use of Melatonin is a different story.

First of all, when you travel across several time zones, a melatonin supplement can help you acclimate to the time difference and reduce the effects of jet lag. That’s a very specific, limited use, so no problem with feedback inhibition.

Secondly, melatonin production isn’t a problem for most young people. But our pineal glands just don’t function as efficiently as we age. The result: Melatonin production decreases, often prompting sleep problems.

Dr. Spreen says he’s generally not comfortable recommending a melatonin supplement to adults under the age of 50. “I might try a milligram or so from 40 to 50, then up to 3 mg at 50. For the really elderly (especially with illnesses that inhibit sleep), I see no problem in going to 20 mg.”

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson

Source:
“I-Team: Is Sleep Supplement OK For Healthy Kids?” WBAL-TV, 11/19/09, wbaltv.com