The rise in children’s melatonin use and what experts want you to know

Packed holiday schedules, no school, disrupted bedtime routines — a parent’s worst nightmare. And if you are one of the many turning to melatonin to help their little ones get to sleep, you may want to think again. New research suggests this increasingly popular solution deserves a closer look.

Nearly 1 in 5 school-age children now regularly use melatonin supplements, according to a study published last year in JAMA Pediatrics. And what’s even more concerning, according to researchers, is that about 6% of preschoolers ages 1 to 4 are taking the sleep aid.

While melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone that helps regulate sleep cycles, supplements aren’t regulated like prescription medications, and research on long-term use in children is limited.

“It is terrifying to me that this amount of an unregulated product is being utilized,” Dr. Cora Collette Breuner, professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington, told NPR.

The surge in usage also coincides with an increase in melatonin poisoning cases. Melatonin ingestion cases reported to poison control centers, largely occurring among children younger than 5, skyrocketed by more than 500% between 2012 and 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During this period, poison control centers documented 260,435 cases of pediatric melatonin ingestion, with the sharpest uptick occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To cut back on melatonin usage, experts recommend these evidence-based sleep strategies:

• Maintain consistent bedtimes, even during holiday festivities
• Turn off screens at least one hour before bed
• Use blackout shades and white noise machines if needed
• Avoid letting children stay up more than one to two hours past normal bedtime on weekends
• Create a calming bedtime routine with activities like reading or quiet music