Bananas are also a safe, sleep-promoting food.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you tried warm milk with honey?

This really work?

Yes, it's great. The milk has tryptophan and the honey balances blood sugar. It won't work for everyone because everyone is different, but it does for my family.

Anonymous wrote:Ok, sleep professional here, 21 years experiance. Melatonin is fine short term, however, when used every night it will inhibit the body from making natural melatonin. Your child should have the same bed and rise times 7 days a week to entrain the circadian rhythm to a consistant schedule. There should be a calm bedtime routine every night as an additional que and to make a break from hectic daytime activities. Any night time wakenings should be ignored if possible so your child learns to sooth him/her self back to sleep. If you can't ignore them then keep any interaction to a minimum, not entering the room if possible. Don't pick up the child, don't take them into your bed. You are giving them a positive reward and this will continue to encourage the behavior. IF a child needs to go to the bathroom, don't turn on the lights, use dim, indirect lighting, straight to the bathroom right back to bed, no sidetrips, talks, stories etc. Bright white light, even for short periods will signal the brain that it is time to be up and allert. This makes it more difficult for a child to get back to sleep. For more information look up Dr. Jodi Mindel, she is an expert in pediatric sleep issues. Pediatric sleep issues can be difficult to deal with, but in many cases being consistant and persistent with a schedule and behavior that limits stimulus after bedtime will do the trick.

Any thoughts on how Melatonin supplementation affects other neurotransmitters in the brain?

In developing childrens' brain?

Ok, sleep professional here, 21 years experiance. Melatonin is fine short term, however, when used every night it will inhibit the body from making natural melatonin. Your child should have the same bed and rise times 7 days a week to entrain the circadian rhythm to a consistant schedule. There should be a calm bedtime routine every night as an additional que and to make a break from hectic daytime activities. Any night time wakenings should be ignored if possible so your child learns to sooth him/her self back to sleep. If you can't ignore them then keep any interaction to a minimum, not entering the room if possible. Don't pick up the child, don't take them into your bed. You are giving them a positive reward and this will continue to encourage the behavior. IF a child needs to go to the bathroom, don't turn on the lights, use dim, indirect lighting, straight to the bathroom right back to bed, no sidetrips, talks, stories etc. Bright white light, even for short periods will signal the brain that it is time to be up and allert. This makes it more difficult for a child to get back to sleep. For more information look up Dr. Jodi Mindel, she is an expert in pediatric sleep issues. Pediatric sleep issues can be difficult to deal with, but in many cases being consistant and persistent with a schedule and behavior that limits stimulus after bedtime will do the trick.

It is a naturally produced neurotransmitter.

The problem with artificially manipulating melatonin levels is that it affects other neurotransmitter levels - sometimes in unpredictable ways.

Anti depressants and anti psychotic drugs often work through altering neurotransmitter levels; they sometimes "backfire" and make the depression worse; there have even been suicides.

Before using Melatonin on a child's developing brain, please try other less drastic approaches.

Anonymous wrote:I have taken melatonin to help me sleep and when it was getting worse- ie I would not fall back asleep in the middle of the night, I did research and see that with the pill you overproduce melatonin at first when you take the pill, and then when your body needs to produce more to stay asleep your body can no longer produce the amounts you need. Make sense sort of? I think like anything melatonin is not a substitute for resolving the underlying problems causing the problem. Why does your child need it?

yes, if you take melatonian too often, such as every night your body will produce LESS naturally so it will make you feel dependent on it. you should see a doctor about her sleep troubles. is she worried about something? underlying medical condition? go speak with some one. i give my children sleepy time tea before bed if i want them to go to bed early and quick. it works for them and has no risk of continually needing it.
maybe see a doctor that has a background is pediatrics as well as alternative medicine for a fresh approach?

Anonymous wrote:7 year old cannot sleep, gets up a couple times in the night. We started giving melatonin on occasion but she is getting worse, can you give it every night? Is it addicting?

Sometimes getting up in the middle of the night is a habit that develops. Our child was doing this a little later, say around age 9. We explained about sleep phases, showed him some on the iPhone app to give him a visual picture. Explained what the brain was doing during sleep (taking out the trash and filing new information). Explained that it was actually normal to wake up in the middle of the night, but that the right thing to do was stay in bed and just roll over and try to close eyes. We talked about sleep relaxation techniques -- breathing, creating comforting images of favorite/relaxing places, and how to make your brain stop thinking (imagery techniques from mediation like "weeding" the thoughts that pop into your head or erasing a blackboard with the thought), etc. We emphasized that it's not necessary to "sleep" right away or solidly thru the night, but that one should try to "relax". (Because if you focus on "sleep" people get anxious that they "can't fall asleep". If you focus on relaxing, people don't get so anxious and can go thru relaxation techniques that almost always lead to sleep eventually.)

One key was to make any response during the middle of the night very minimal -- in the beginning a pat on the back, reassurance and guided help with relaxation techniques transitioning over time to pat on the back and reassurance and encouragement to do relaxation own, then withdrawing physical presence and just offering reassurance.

Eventually it (the middle of the night waking) disappeared or wasn't disruptive.

http://m.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324637504578567670426190246?mobile=y

Please read. Melatonin is not risk free. Long term side effects

Our pediatrician says melatonin is fine. We give older DS 3 mg on occasion. (once or twice a month)

I'm PP. I take it daily before bed and it kicks in about 30 min later. I haven't noticed any signs of addiction, but haven't tried to go off of it either. It's a natural made hormone so I'm not too concerned about drugging myself. I take 2.5 mg sublinqually. I read it's supposed to absorb better than the pill versions.