Sleep aid for children: Doctors warn of melatonin gummy bears
Created: 08/08/2022, 17:30
By: Judith Brown
US actress Kristen Bell gives her daughters melatonin gummies to help them fall asleep.
Is this trend healthy for kids?
As a spray, tea or in the form of drops: Melatonin is being used more and more frequently as a natural sleep hormone for adults with problems falling asleep.
Although it actually requires a prescription as a hormonally active ingredient, some preparations do not require a prescription because the amounts of melatonin are so small that they can also be found in food.
However, whether the active ingredient is also beneficial as a sleep aid for children has been controversial since an interview with US actress Kristen Bell (42).
She uses melatonin gummies to put her two daughters to sleep, she told E-News.
Physicians view this approach critically.
Melatonin gummy bears: doctors warn of sleep aids for children
Rituals and a well-timed, rhythmic day help children fall asleep well.
Melatonin, on the other hand, is not recommended.
(Iconic image) © Jos Temprano/IMAGO
"It just blows them away faster and they're doing great," said the 42-year-old in an interview.
Bell and husband Dax Shepard, 47, give their two daughters, Lincoln, 9, and Delta, 7, 7, melatonin gummies to help them fall asleep and give their parents a quiet night together.
Until recently, the family shared a bedroom.
If the parents then wanted to watch a film, the two girls had to try to fall asleep.
That's why they gave them the gummy bears, because the sleep hormone melatonin, which is produced in the pineal gland in the brain and is an antagonist of the stress hormone cortisol, is important for healthy sleep.
When light intake decreases and is surrounded by blue and red light, the level of melatonin in the body increases.
It ensures that the body shuts down and energy consumption is throttled.
The result is a drop in body temperature and a drop in blood pressure.
In contrast, cortisol keeps us awake and alert during the day.
Since melatonin is responsible for the sleep-wake cycle, it is often used in shift work or jet lag to bring it back into balance.
However, its administration to children has been controversial and is not recommended by experts.
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Falling asleep in children: rituals instead of sweets with melatonin
The guidelines of the pediatric working group of the German Society for Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine (DGSM) advise against uncritical use in childhood.
It could "not only cause side effects, but also delay the start of a more sensible therapy." In the case of sleep disorders, however, sleep hygiene measures should be applied.
general practitioner dr.
Christoph Specht also warns
RTL
of side effects such as nausea, headaches, vomiting and skin rashes.
"Why children sleep or not has a lot to do with the ritual," says the doctor.
For example, he advises dimming or turning off the lights and turning off the displays of smartphones or tablets as soon as it's bedtime.
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Rituals and bedtime routines can also be started much earlier in the evening and not when the children are already in bed.
For example, it helps to let the children play a little before dinner so that they can calm down, reveals sleep trainer Astrid Steindl to the Austrian daily newspaper
Der Standard Online
.
After dinner, children can be prepared for bed by, for example, reading them a book or telling a story and cuddling them.
This article only contains general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication. In no way does it replace a visit to the doctor. Unfortunately, our editors are not allowed to answer individual questions about clinical pictures.