melatonin?
My sons councler recommend trying melatonin at bedtime to see if that helps him sleep because he hasn’t ever slept through the night and has short REM cycles. Has anyone ever heard of this and/or tried it? I gave it to him 2 nights now but he also has a cold right now so I don’t know if that is also affecting the sleep so the pill isn’t helping or if he just needs to be on it for a certain amount of time before it can start to work. My 3 year old also doesn’t sleep through the night so I was going to ask about him taking it as well if it works for the 5 year old. BTW my mom, myself and even my grandma (my moms mom) don’t sleep well either, never have with really short REM cycles.
Tagged with: amount of time • bedtime • google • grandma • melatonin • mom • sleep • sleep through the night
Filed under: Insomnia
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I also have problems sleeping, as does my son. I have used melatonin off and on for some time now, and I think it works very well. No long term studies have been done on usage with children, but it does appear to be safe.
Melatonin isn’t usually indicated for children. If you try it, you should consult his pediatrician first. It’s a hormone secreted by the pineal gland that regulates the biorythm. It’s potent, and really works, sometimes miraculously. Giving a hormone to a 5 year old should certainly be taken to the doc though.
Melatonin is not likely to help your son sleep (usually children have lots of it naturally and can’t use more). Also, it’s not an especially "strong" compound, and some people don’t seem to respond to it at all. It might be useful, however, for those of you who are older. It should be taken at the same time every evening to establish a rhythm. However, I would recommend asking your doctor about it… melatonin is thought to play a role in the induction of puberty and hormone regulation, so I would hesitate to give it to someone under age 18 or so.
The tricky thing about melatonin is finding the proper dosage. It can be very little for some people and others need a huge dose. But if your family has a history of sleep problems I’d suggest seeing a neurologist and if you have the insurance for it undergoing a "sleep study". (Just Google "sleep study" to learn about it.)
Basically you will go to a controlled setting, ‘be attached’ to various monitors and…well….sleep one night there (with trained people monitoring you of course) and then you will go over the results with the neurologist and he/she will be able to tell you EXACTLY what the problem is and how to treat it.
Below is a good ‘protocol’ for insomnia if you can’t go the ‘sleep study’ route.
Good Luck!!!
Melatonin may be fine, just be sure to monitor him/them and work with your pediatrician. Just to let you know…too much melatonin can give anyone nightmares, but a bit may be just the thing. There are studies with melatonin use for children. Also, all of you could try some powdered magnesium citrate before bedtime too. There’s a good one called Natural Calm. The unflavored formula tastes kind of like alka-seltzer. The flavored one is natural raspberry/lemon and sweetened with stevia.There’s also a childrens formula called Kid’s Calm. It’s made by Peter Gillham Nutrition. Magnesium is very calming and can be very helpful, especially for sleep.
There is a cherry concentrate made from a specific type of cherry that is naturally high in melatonin. My wife use to have to take sleeping pills, but not anymore! It naturally stimulates the peneal gland in the brain to do its job! Its really great.
feel free to contact me with any other questions on this subject.