Side Effects of Melatonin and Warnings – Expert’s Advice

Side Effects of Melatonin – Sleep is among the most important things for the human body. Just like eating and drinking, sleep is equally important to overall physical health and cognitive performance at the same time.

Doctors suggest everyone take at least 6 to 8 hours of sleep. But, not everyone can sleep happily. A lot of things can affect our sleeping cycle, which includes stress, disorder, drugs, etc.

In order to come out of sleeping disorders or have a good night sleep even with the stress, your doctor might suggest you take a melatonin supplement. Melatonin is a natural hormone in our body that manages our sleep cycle.

Higher levels of melatonin can help us sleep better. That is why most doctors suggest everyone take melatonin supplements if they are struggling with a sleep disorder. But it also contains several side effects. That is the topic of our blog today. So let’s get started.

Side effects of melatonin supplements

As you are already aware, our body also makes melatonin naturally, which helps us sleep that night. There are no side effects of melatonin if your body is making it naturally. 

On the other hand, You might experience a huge list of side effects if you are taking supplements of melatonin. Any synthetic product which replicates natural things can have side effects.

Lower the production of melatonin

Even though melatonin is among the safest supplements for the human body, regular use of the supplement might lower the production of melatonin in our body. 

A lot of scientists and studies have already proven that supplementation of natural things can suppress the ability of our body to produce that. 

For example, several studies have already proven that supplements of testosterone or synthetic test drove through can suppress the ability of our body to produce it naturally. 

Similarly, scientists are more concerned with the long-term usage of melatonin supplements. It should be a short-term course, and after that, every consumer should give rest to their body and let the natural process heal that damage.

Using any supplement for more than six months can become dangerous and cause several side effects in the future. That is why you should always give a gap of at least three months after the regular usage of the supplement for six months. 

Common side effects of melatonin supplement

Apart from the serious side effects, melatonin supplements also contain common side effects. Most of the people who are going to take the supplement will Experience these common side effects.

As soon as you start taking the supplement, you might experience severe headaches and dizziness. Usually, these side effects go away within a few days after you start taking the melatonin supplement, but You should consult with your doctor if the severity of the symptoms is not going away.

A lot of people have also complained about having nausea and drowsiness along with headaches and dizziness. It is very common in people who are already suffering from any other medical condition with similar symptoms.

Apart from all that, you might also experience short-term depression, mild anxiety, mild tremor, and reduced alertness. The sudden increase of melatonin in your body might shock your brain, and it can Abnormally lower the blood pressure, also known as hypotension.

Side Effects of melatonin in Kids

The safety of kids has always become one of the biggest issues. Everyone wants their kids to be safe. When it comes to taking any medication or supplement, we cannot just rely on the assumptions.

A lot of parents have recently started using melatonin supplements as they improve the sleep cycle of their children without any serious side effects. 

Yes, it is true that melatonin supplements do not have many serious side effects when it comes to using on adults. But, the supplement has not been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. 

Even though a lot of doctors have been suggesting melatonin supplements as off-label, most of the time, it is being recommended to children who are suffering from autism spectrum disorders and children who are suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Now everyone is more concerned regarding the safety of the supplement. As compared to any other product which can provide similar benefits, the melatonin supplement is known to be the safest.

But, some children might experience bedwetting, agitation, headaches, and drowsiness once they start taking the supplement. A lot of health experts believe that people below the age of 18 should not use melatonin supplements as it can impact their overall growth. 

The long-term side effects of melatonin supplements are still unknown to everyone, including children and adults. Even though a few organizations are doing a study on the long-term side effects of melatonin, they are doing it in adults rather than children. We have to wait a few years till some other organization comes with its studies.

Warnings of Melatonin Supplement

Melatonin supplement is not 100% safe to use. There are a few warnings and precautions associated with the supplement.

First of all, if you are trying to get pregnant, then you should consult with your doctor because melatonin can have similar effects as birth control. The supplement can make it more difficult for a woman to get pregnant.

Underage children must be very careful while using this supplement. Even though it is safe to use when it comes to adults, melatonin supplements can interfere with the development of a child during their adolescence. 

In some cases, for people who were suffering from bleeding disorders and took melatonin supplements, the consumption of supplements made the disorder worse, and they had to seek medical attention. You should be very careful if you are suffering from any bleeding disorder and start out with a melatonin supplement.

Expert advice on Melatonin

As per the center school Disease Control and Prevention, more than three million Americans were using melatonin supplements back in 2012. As per the recent surveys, the number of three million has grown to about 5,000,000. 

As per the sleep expert at John Hopkins, your body produces melatonin naturally without the help of a supplement. It doesn’t make you sleep, but it helps the body to understand. It is time to sleep.

 Mr. Luis mentioned that Our body is able to produce enough melatonin, but in some cases, we have to use this supplement as the normal production gets hampered. Most people use it to improve their sleep cycle. Melatonin supplement is very famous in People who experience jet lag or day or night owl, and now they want to change their sleep cycle.

You must be very careful while using a supplement as it is very easy to overdose on it. The safe dose of melatonin supplement is around 1 to 3 milligrams two hours before bedtime.

At the same time, you should also know when to stop it. You cannot keep using it forever as it can hamper the natural production of melatonin in our body. It is always a wise decision to give a break of at least three months after using it for six months regularly. 

Takeaways

Melatonin Is a natural hormone produced by our body that helps us sleep at night. The higher levels of melatonin Let our body know that it is nighttime and we should sleep. It is a natural process, and you do not need any supplement to do it.

But, in some rare cases where people are struggling with sleep due to their sleep disorder, stress, or other medical condition, it becomes necessary for them to use a supplement that helps them sleep without any major side effects.

Usually, doctors consider melatonin as a safe supplement, but in some cases, it might cause several side effects. If you keep using a melatonin supplement for a longer period of time, then it might hamper the natural progression of melatonin in your body.

At the same time, people might also experience short-term side effects once they start using your means which include nausea, dizziness, headache, and drowsiness.