Growing up, if you were unable to sleep, there were several approaches you could adopt. You could count sheep, enjoy a glass of milk, or even journal. While these methods are still useful, an increasing number of people, specifically children and young adults, are relying on melatonin to fall asleep. While the occasional use of melatonin isn’t bad, routine use and the inability to naturally fall asleep can indicate a deeper problem. However, new studies bring into question the use of melatonin on younger people altogether.
Melatonin is a hormone naturally produced by humans that allows them to fall asleep. It plays an important function in maintaining the human circadian rhythm. People who fail to easily fall asleep can resort to utilizing melatonin supplements for some time, but it is not a viable long-term solution. One of the reasons for this is that melatonin is still a hormone. “Whenever you’re talking about giving kids hormones, you want to be especially careful, especially in kids who are prepubescent, so not yet adolescents,” stated Dr. Céline Gounder, CBS News medical contributor and editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News. For children specifically, the use of melatonin early on could pose a serious problem as it has the potential to trigger puberty early in prepubescent children. Another reason why melatonin use should be treated with caution is because melatonin is not as heavily regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This means that the melatonin supplements that are readily available at all pharmacies do not undergo the same rigorous testing procedures as other medications. For this reason, it is hard to understand the long-term effects of melatonin as the lack of testing leads to a lack of data on the matter.
Christine Won, the medical director of the Yale Centers for Sleep Medicine, and Craig Canapari, director of the Yale Pediatric Sleep Center, are currently studying the increasing reliance on melatonin among the younger population. One possible reason why this is happening is that college students may have misconceptions and misunderstandings as to the appropriate dosage of melatonin, the purpose of melatonin, and other ways to enhance sleep. According to Won, the correct dosage for melatonin is actually less than one milligram, while it is mostly sold anywhere at three to ten milligrams per tablet. Secondly, Won went on to say, “Melatonin is very useful for treating jet lag and other circadian rhythm disorders, but it is not meant to be used as a sleeping aid for people who can’t fall or stay asleep, i.e., insomnia.” Continuing with this, she also shares how overreliance on melatonin can actually worsen your ability to sleep and your quality of sleep.
For all of these reasons, it is recommended that individuals who struggle to fall asleep and remain asleep try other methods before turning to melatonin. Other potential methods include maintaining a set routine and aiming to sleep around the same time every day and for the same amount of time. Additionally, making healthy food and fitness decisions can also help balance hormones, which enables naturally falling asleep. All of these practices serve to build healthy habits regardless, but if issues in falling asleep persist, it is best to consult a doctor.
