Parents are giving their kids melatonin to help them sleep at increasing rates, and some as young as preschool are taking it regularly, according to new CU Boulder research.
During 2017 and 2018, about 1.3% of U.S. parents reported that their children used melatonin, according to the study. CU Boulder researchers surveyed parents in 2023 and found about 18.5% of children ages 5 to 9 had been given melatonin in the 30 days prior to the survey.
About 19.4% of kids ages 10 to 13 and nearly 6% of preschoolers ages 1 to 4 had used melatonin in the same time period.
Additionally, the researchers said there are unknown risks with melatonin for children. Because it’s considered a supplement, melatonin is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.
“We hope this paper raises awareness for parents and clinicians, and sounds the alarm for the scientific community,” CU Boulder lead author Lauren Hartstein said in a release. “We are not saying that melatonin is necessarily harmful to children. But much more research needs to be done before we can state with confidence that it is safe for kids to be taking long-term.”
According to the release, nearly one in five school-aged children and preteens now take melatonin for sleep. Hartstein said the reason for the increase in melatonin use is difficult to identify.
“A number of research studies have reported increased sleep disturbances in children as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Hartstein said. “We also know that kids are increasingly using screen media devices before bedtime, which could be contributing to sleep difficulties. But we also can’t say for certain whether the increase in pediatric melatonin use reflects a corresponding increase in sleep problems.”
Hartstein said the findings do signal that parents are searching for solutions.
“Melatonin is increasingly being marketed to parents as an easy and ‘natural’ option to help children sleep and is being sold in preparations that are tasty and appealing to children, which may be contributing to increased use,” Hartstein said.
Melatonin is a hormone the brain produces when it’s dark, signaling it’s time to sleep. In the United States, chemically synthesized or animal-derived melatonin is available over the counter as a dietary supplement, the study said, and in many other countries, it’s classified as a drug and available by prescription only.
Melatonin is also increasingly available in child-friendly gummies. Reports of melatonin ingestion to poison control centers increased 530% from 2012 to 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, largely occurring among children under 5.
In a study published in April, researchers analyzed 25 melatonin gummy products. One had more than three times the amount of melatonin reported on the label. One had no detectable amount of melatonin, but did contain 31.3 mg of CBD, an active ingredient in cannabis.
The study found the majority of melatonin gummy products were inaccurately labeled, with most products exceeding the amount of melatonin and CBD on the label.
“Parents may not actually know what they are giving to their children when administering these supplements,” Hartstein said in the release.
Some scientists, according to the release, have raised concerns that giving melatonin to young people whose brains and bodies are still developing could influence the timing of puberty onset.
Co-author Julie Boergers, a psychologist and pediatric sleep specialist at Rhode Island Hospital and the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, said that when used under the supervision of a health care provider, melatonin can be a useful short-term aid.
“But it is almost never a first-line treatment,” Boergers said in the release. “Although it’s typically well-tolerated, whenever we’re using any kind of medication or supplement in a young, developing body, we want to exercise caution.”
Introducing melatonin early in life could also have another unintended consequence by sending the message that a pill is the answer for trouble sleeping, Hartstein said.
“If this many kids are taking melatonin, that suggests there are a lot of underlying sleep issues out there that need to be addressed,” Hartstein said. “Addressing the symptom doesn’t necessarily address the cause.”
