My tween has problems “turning her brain off” and it is becoming increasingly more important to help her get the sleep her body desperately needs. Her doctor recently recommended starting her on melatonin to help her sleep at night. I’m one of these overprotective, neurotic moms that needs to research EVERYTHING before I can dive in and start something. Like everything, doctors debate, research isn’t concrete enough to convince and there is a hesitation to try something new. What to do?!
In the Child Health Monitor magazine they stated, “Sleep disturbance is common in childhood, and is particularly problematic in children with neurological problems such as learning difficulties, cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorders and epilepsy, as well as children with visual impairment (partial or complete). This is probably because these children have difficulty recognizing and attuning their sleep cycle to the outside world’s sleep-wake cycle.” My tween has a visual/auditory processing disorder. Due to some issues at birth she was later found to have some minor developmental delays neurologically. We first thought it was related to a different health issue. Yet, once she had surgery the problems did not resolve. Although she is in the gifted classes, she works very hard for her accomplishments, for which we are very proud of her dedication and self perseverance.
The Child Health Monitor described how melatonin works, “Melatonin, a hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain, is increasingly being used to treat sleep disturbance in children. Melatonin is most commonly used for jet lag, but claims have been made that it also promotes general health and protects against the effects of aging. Melatonin helps regulate the body’s sleep-wake cycle and its production is determined by light and dark. When darkness falls, the pineal gland produces more melatonin, promoting sleep and regulating the body’s sleep-wake cycle with the outside world. Because of its use in promoting sleep, melatonin is increasingly used in the treatment of sleep disturbance in children. However, this particular use of the drug has been studied very little and in fact, melatonin is not licensed as a drug in most countries.”
Another physician Andrew Weil said, “To find out about the safety of using melatonin as a sleep aid for children, I consulted two experts: Rubin Naiman, Ph.D., a sleep and dream specialist and clinical assistant professor of medicine with the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, and George C. Brainard, a melatonin expert at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.
Dr. Naiman told me that children’s brains produce significant amounts of melatonin. Because of this, and since the effects of extra melatonin on development are unknown, sleep specialists have cautioned against using it with kids. Dr. Naiman noted that some preliminary data suggests that melatonin may be effective in helping developmentally delayed children, especially autistic kids, with sleep problems, but he said the essential question to explore in your son’s case is why he is having trouble sleeping. Addressing the underlying contributors is central to any long-term strategy.
Dr. Brainard said that taking melatonin supplements is safe when used for short periods of time, but for both adolescents and adults, the safety of taking them at higher doses for months or years is unclear. He also noted that when prescribed to children, melatonin has been effective and rarely associated with side effects (which can include seizures, more frequent seizures in kids with a history of them, hyperactivity, agitation, behavioral changes, worsening sleep patterns, nightmares and constipation).”
What’s your opinion? Would you try it?
The truth is that Kerry and I are no slouches either at 5’11 and 6’1. The extra room will be good for all of us and we are being grown ups and being real about what we can afford and what we can’t. I can only hope the boys pay attention and learn a little lesson about that 
