Guest Written by Lydia Chan

In a 2022 report issued by CDC in the United States, there is a shocking 530% increase in annual reported cases of Melatonin overdose in children over the past decade. These include unintentional ingestions (94.3%) and otherwise, with most being 5 years old or under. From 2019 to 2022, melatonin was involved in 1 of every 14 pediatric ER visits related to unintentional ingestion of medications.

And just between 2018 and 2022, it has been estimated that sales of Melatonin has nearly tripled in the States, where usage was up both among adults and children.

What is Melatonin?

Melatonin is a naturally-occurring hormone released by a part of the brain called the pineal gland, in response to darkness, and regulates the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle.

How effective is Melatonin supplementation?

A meta-analysis published in 2013, combining results from 19 studies comprising of over 1,500 adults, shows that supplementing with Melatonin can help you fall asleep 7 minutes faster and increase overall sleep time by 8 minutes on average. There is not enough research on how melatonin supplementation affects children, so results may not apply to them.

It is also worth noting that clinically, short-term prescription of Melatonin is best used for shifting sleep onset timing (eg. for shift workers or jet lag), but not for sleep maintenance or consolidation. Timing and dosage is key to its effectiveness, so it is crucial to speak to your own medical practitioner before considering supplementation.

What are the side effects to consider?

Melatonin is a hormone, not a herb. As we know, artificially disrupting a hormone, even in minuscule amounts, almost always have a knock-on effect in the body, and may actually lead to more pathological imbalances overtime. Supplementation overtime may also affect the body’s own natural production.

First response or last resort?

If you ever discuss sleep challenges with a practitioner and the first answer you get is melatonin supplementation, do not buy into it right away and speak to someone who specialises in sleep.

From a holistic sleep perspective, we should firstly be curious as to why your body isn’t producing its own melatonin, and in most cases, this sleep hormone can already be boosted and regulated naturally through simple lifestyle, diet and behavioural changes:

Sufficient natural light exposure during the day can increase the release of a hormone called serotonin, responsible for wakefulness and mood regulation. Serotonin is also the precursor for the hormone melatonin, hence having sufficient serotonin in the body is important in supporting the release of
melatonin at night.

On the other hand, reducing light exposure (in particular high intensity blue light from screens and other artificial light sources) in the few hours before bedtime can kickstart ‘dim light melatonin onset’ and prepare one’s brain for sleep to arrive.

Consuming foods that naturally contain melatonin – such as tart cherries, kiwis, nuts, seeds, milk and eggs – can also support and regulate the production of sleep hormones.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-i) is considered the gold standard treatment in the field of sleep medicine, with adequate empirical support to demonstrate its efficacy as a first line treatment for chronic insomnia.

[Although short-term, emergency use of melatonin may have efficacy in a small number of people, especially those with circadian rhythm disorders or in cases of jet lag.]

Key takeaways

Melatonin from over-the-counter is not the key to restoring your body’s natural circadian rhythm, and it is certainly NOT the answer for everyone.

NB to parents: if you do have Melatonin at home, make sure they are locked away properly and always out of your children’s reach (especially if they come in the form of a gummy).

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