Melatonin

[bransmomma]

Has anyone tried Melatonin for their children that have trouble sleeping? My son is only 3.5 yrs. but sleeps an average of 6 hours a night- if that. I was curious about Melatonin. GNC has 1 mg. tablets available or 3 mg. tablets w/ 2 mg. of B6 included. It says only for adults though. Any suggestions?

[Kimmers]

I took melatonin as a "pre-teen" and it did help some. It was a little tablet placed under the tongue that absorbed into the bloodstream. I am not sure on a child so young if it is safe to use but I thought I would let you know that it is an okay thing for inducing sleep but not a dramatic help.

Kimmers

[Kimmers]

BTW, I forgot to add that a pharmacist should be able to point you in the right direction.

[RiahBubbaPooh]

My kids have used Melatonin and Calms Forte by Hyland's Homeopathic. Both worked well. They don't need it often (Maybe 3-4 times a year) but it helps when they do.

I take two 3mg melatonin every night to combat the sleep problems I have from fibromyalgia. I find it very helpful.

[catatonic]

"Mainstream" medical literature is somewhat divided on the melatonin issue. In reading a variety of studies, it seems clear to me that melatonin has definite sleep benefits.

One study looked specifically at children with idiopathic insomnia (insomnia for which there was no identifiable cause such as stim meds) and found that melatonin significantly increased how FAST they fell asleep, although not the total amount of time they stayed asleep. Dose in this study was 5mg.
(see www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14566165&dopt=Abstract )

Other studies, like the double blind linked below, concluded melatonin had no effect at all. However, in this study, the most melatonin they gave was 1mg, which really isn't enough. (I'd say it's a joke, but I'm trying to be polite and not hastily conclude that the experimenters WANTED the melatonin to fail in order to continue pushing prescription sleep medications.)
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12790159&dopt=Abstract

There's a very good summary of melatonin and its use in children with sleep disturbances at www.keepkidshealthy.com/medicine_cabinet/melatonin_sleep_problems.html

Recommended starting dose is 2.5mg for children under 5 and 5mg for children over 5. If you don't see results and need to increase the dose, don't go over 10mg for the older age group. Don't use more than 5mg for the younger age group.

If you see side effects of morning headache, morning sleepiness, or hallucinations, decrease the dosage.

[bransmomma]

I will check the websites you recommended. Thank you all for your advice. I did call his doctor and she said not enough research of melatonin in kids has been done. I may not agree after I read the websites Cat gave me.

Thanks.