The benefits and harms of sedating your baby to sleep by giving them melatonin

Many mothers of children with insomnia or sleep problems often want to give their children melatonin so that their babies can sleep more easily and more deeply. However, not everyone knows if there is any potential danger in sleeping like this. 

For mothers, having a baby having trouble sleeping or not sleeping well is a terrible obsession. Every day, mothers are always concerned with the problem of how to get their children to sleep well and deeply, because if they do not get enough sleep, they will have health problems, become irritable, their ability to concentrate poor ... The fact that this condition, if prolonged, often causes children to face bad complications such as high blood pressure, obesity, headache or depression. So it is not too surprising that mothers are actively looking for a solution to the above story.

Some recent studies have shown that giving melatonin to children will help treat sleep problems. But is using drugs the best way or are there any more effective measures?

For adults, it's considered safe to use melatonin, but is it okay for children to use it? In fact, all health organizations do not recommend this drug to children.

What is Melatonin?

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland and is commonly referred to as the sleep hormone because its main role is to help regulate circadian rhythms in the human body. Melatonin levels will soar in the evening telling the body "it's time to sleep". On the contrary, early in the morning its concentration starts to decrease gradually over a few hours until we wake up.

Besides being your body's biological alarm clock, melatonin also helps to regulate your blood pressure , body temperature, cortisol levels, and immune function.

Our body's circadian rhythms can be disrupted by several factors: staying up late or being exposed to strong light at night. This is the reason why the pineal gland reduces the amount of melatonin it secretes. In this case, taking a certain amount of melatonin will help reset the body's biological clock. In the US, people also use this hormone as a way to deal with sleep problems such as: insomnia,  fatigue after a long flight,  sleep disturbances related to mental health ...

Can children who drink melatonin sleep?

This is a question that surely many parents also care about, right? And some of the evidence below can help us answer these questions!

Numerous studies of melatonin, especially those in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and other neurological conditions, have shown that melatonin is present in children. Can affect a child's ability to fall asleep.

For example, an analysis of 35 studies with autistic children found that melatonin supplementation helped them fall asleep faster and sleep longer. Likewise, another analysis from 13 studies found that children with neurological problems fell asleep 29 minutes faster and slept on average 48 minutes longer on melatonin. Similar effects have been observed in healthy children and teenagers who are struggling with sleep.

A good night's sleep is not just about closing your eyes and then getting finished sleeping, but it is also influenced by many other factors. For example, using smartphones, watching television or using light-emitting devices at night (tablets) can prevent melatonin production. That's why there are recommendations to limit the use of technology equipment before going to bed if you don't want to have trouble sleeping.

Health-related factors are also diagnosed to help figure out why your baby has trouble sleeping. It should be noted that external factors also significantly affect the sleep of your baby. If the living environment is too noisy or children have stress in studying or pressure from home are also the reasons that make it difficult for children to sleep.

Therefore, it is best if you bring your child to the doctor for an appointment before giving him or her melatonin. Because sometimes identifying a new problem can help radically treat a child's insomnia.

Is it safe for children to take melatonin?

Most studies show it is safe to give melatonin to children short-term with little or no side effects. However, some babies may experience symptoms such as nausea, headache, urination, excessive sweating, dizziness, morning drowsiness, stomach pain, and a few other symptoms.

Currently, medical experts are uncertain about the long-term side effects of melatonin on young children as there is very little research done on that. Additionally, melatonin-containing supplements are not approved for use by the US Drug Administration (FDA) for use in children.

Until long-term studies are done, it is not entirely certain that melatonin is safe for children. If your child is having trouble sleeping then the best advice to see a doctor for the most effective solutions.

Other ways to put babies to sleep

Sometimes drugs are not the last resort when we have yet to try non-medicinal solutions to our baby's problem. If it is not enough for the child to drink melatonin, mothers try the following ways so that your baby can soon say goodbye to the difficulty of sleeping that is clinging to him.

Do not let your child do vigorous exercise before going to bed

Many parents often follow the advice of old grandparents to let their children get plenty of exercise before bed because they think they will get tired. That is completely wrong, the situation of children running and jumping too tired will make them feel tired and restless, so they may have difficulty falling asleep. Sometimes too much exercise before going to sleep makes children startled while sleeping because of the psychological influence by vigorous activity games. Ideally, you shouldn't let your baby do too much exercise before bed.

Form a habit of going to bed at the right time for your baby

Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day can create a habit of your child's circadian clock, making it easier for babies to fall asleep and wake up at the same time. It will take a long time for your child to get used to this, but it's better than letting him take melatonin, right? You can tell stories, read books to your baby, or hug and pamper them for a while to make them fall asleep easier.

Limit the use of technology equipment before bed

Watching movies late in the time slot will often be very appealing to babies. But exposure to electronic devices such as televisions and phones or tablets emit blue light, disrupting natural melatonin production. Do not let your baby touch them for 1-2 hours before going to bed to help them fall asleep faster.

Excessive stress can promote alertness, so helping your baby relax before bed may allow them to fall asleep faster.

If the family has conditions for children to stay in the air conditioner, you should make sure that mothers do not set the temperature too hot or too cold because both affect the baby and the baby will feel uncomfortable when sleeping and affect the health. your child's health.

Bathing close to bedtime is also a great alternative to drinking melatonin. The trick is to take a bath about 90 minutes or 120 minutes before bedtime can help your baby relax and achieve a better quality of sleep.

Children's sleeping space should also be cared about in more detail. Your baby will not be able to sleep well if he is lying in a place with noisy traffic or bright street lights, house lights. Therefore, the space for children to sleep should be absolutely quiet, cool and comfortable.

Children's sleep is very important, a good, deep sleep will help babies be happy and develop healthy. If there is no solution to help your child sleep well, do not let your child take melatonin without visiting the doctor!