Should Kids Be Taking Melatonin?

Summary

Short Wave Podcast Summary: "Should Kids Be Taking Melatonin?"

Introduction

In the April 29, 2025 episode of NPR's Short Wave, hosts Emily Kwong and Regina Barber delve into the increasingly popular use of melatonin supplements among children. As sleep disturbances become more prevalent in both adults and kids due to factors like screen time and stress, parents are turning to melatonin as a potential solution. This episode explores the science behind melatonin, its usage trends, safety concerns, and expert insights.

The Rise of Melatonin for Kids

Emily Kwong opens the discussion by emphasizing the critical role of sleep in children’s development:

"For kids, sleep is crucial for physical, mental, and emotional development. But there are a lot of things keeping us awake. These screens, electronics, stress." [00:16]

She introduces Michael Scholsson, a contributing editor at Undark magazine, who has investigated the surge in melatonin use:

"It's like so many parents dream, which is like, is this the answer? Is there this one gummy or this one thing that can help me get through this part of the day that can be really, really hard for parents and families?" [01:05]

Historical Context and Marketing Strategies

Scholsson traces the popularity of melatonin back to the 1990s, coinciding with deregulation of supplements in the United States. This deregulation allowed for easier marketing and sales, contributing to melatonin becoming a "new hot thing."

"You could find these articles where people are like, whoa, melatonin is the new hot thing. What do we make of it?" [05:09]

Emily notes the attractive packaging of melatonin products:

"A lot of melatonin packaging is just very friendly looking. I mean, it's like these big bottles and the melatonin supplements come in sometimes very yummy flavors, sometimes they're gummies." [05:56]

Scholsson agrees, highlighting deliberate marketing toward parents:

"It's being marketed to parents in a very deliberate way, yes. And it's the bottles. It's a lot of the language around saying melatonin is safe and drug free and non habit forming." [06:13]

Understanding Melatonin: Hormone vs. Supplement

A critical point discussed is the nature of melatonin as a hormone rather than a vitamin, despite being marketed as a supplement.

"Melatonin falls into this really weird in between space where I think it's regulated as a supplement and a lot of people think about it as being harmless and natural. And it's also something that's a prescription drug in a lot of the world." [06:28]

Scholsson emphasizes that melatonin acts like a drug by influencing the body’s sleep cycles:

"It's a hormone you take in order to change something in your sort of create a change in your body. And in that sense it certainly, even if it is not legally a drug, it certainly is kind of being used like a drug and is acting like a drug." [06:38]

Research on Effectiveness and Safety

The hosts delve into scientific research surrounding melatonin's efficacy and safety for children. Scholsson points out the limited evidence:

"The evidence that exists definitely suggests that, yes, it can help kids fall asleep a little bit earlier, maybe not dramatically earlier, but something kind of on the order of around 20 minutes, maybe a little bit more on average." [07:48]

However, the impact on overall restfulness is still unclear:

"There's not really that much evidence either way showing that children are actually better rested when they have taken melatonin versus they have not." [08:00]

Side Effects and Long-Term Concerns

While melatonin is considered relatively safe in the short term, concerns about long-term use remain:

"In terms of short term side effects, they could definitely be there that are typically recorded in the scientific research tend to be pretty mild. But... it's possible that there are kind of immediate or short term side effects that people just haven't really done a good job of tracking." [09:20]

Long-term effects, especially with regular use over years, are largely unknown:

"In terms of the long term effects of children who are taking melatonin maybe four or five or six or seven times a week for years on end, that's a really big open question." [09:20]

Use in Specific Populations

Melatonin use is more accepted for children with neurodevelopmental conditions that significantly impact sleep, such as autism and ADHD:

"For children with some neurodevelopmental differences that can significantly affect their ability to sleep... it makes sense to perhaps use melatonin regularly in order to... be helpful." [10:48]

Conversely, its widespread use among neurotypical children without medical supervision is criticized:

"The way that melatonin is used often right now, which is used regularly, often for neurotypical children who are perhaps sometimes taking the hormone a few times a week or every night with very little sort of supervision or input from a medical professional, is something that very few people intend." [11:28]

Expert Recommendations and Alternatives

Experts generally advise caution and recommend exploring non-supplemental solutions before resorting to melatonin. Scholsson underscores the importance of informed decision-making:

"Parents have the right to know what debates among scientists look like and understand where there's uncertainty." [12:18]

Establishing good bedtime routines and minimizing screen time before bed are suggested as first-line strategies:

"Establishing good bedtime routines, doing things like avoiding screen time before bed, steps like that can be helpful." [12:18]

Conclusion

The episode concludes with an emphasis on the need for more comprehensive research and cautious use of melatonin in children. While it offers a potential respite for struggling families, the long-term implications remain uncertain.

"We don't see obvious signs of concern... there is a sense that there is Very little research, especially on long term effects of melatonin." [10:38]

Emily Kwong wraps up by acknowledging the complex balance parents must navigate to ensure healthy sleep for their children and themselves.

"We want kids to have a good night's sleep for sure. And we want parents to sleep too." [13:27]

Key Takeaways

• Melatonin Popularity: Increased use since the 1990s, especially among parents seeking solutions for children's sleep issues.
• Marketing Tactics: Attractive packaging and language emphasizing safety contribute to widespread adoption.
• Scientific Uncertainty: Limited evidence on long-term safety and effectiveness in neurotypical children calls for caution.
• Expert Advice: Prioritize behavioral interventions and consult healthcare professionals before using melatonin regularly.
• Need for Research: More comprehensive studies are essential to fully understand the implications of melatonin use in children.

This episode of Short Wave provides a nuanced exploration of melatonin’s role in pediatric sleep, highlighting both its potential benefits and the significant gaps in current knowledge.

Transcript

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[Emily Kwong]

Amazon Pharmacy, you're listening to Short Wave from npr. Hey, short waivers. Emily Kwong here. Okay, so possibly my favorite thing in the entire world is a good night's sleep. I mean, nothing makes a bigger difference to my mental and physical health. Without quality sleep, we're less productive, grumpy. It can even affect our hearts. And for kids, sleep is crucial for physical, mental, and emotional development. But there are a lot of things keeping us awake. These screens, electronics, stress. Researchers say that, like adults, kids are having problems falling asleep and staying asleep. So more and more parents are turning to a supplement called melatonin as a possible solution.

[Michael Scholsson]

It's like so many parents dream, which is like, is this the answer? Is there this one gummy or this one thing that can help me get through this part of the day that can be really, really hard for parents and families?

[Emily Kwong]

Michael Scholsson is a contributing editor at Undark magazine, where he writes and edits stories about science. And he recently looked into why more and more people are using sleep supplements, especially with their kids. Melatonin is a hormone, and it's one that our bodies produce naturally.

[Michael Scholsson]

It's part of the way that the body regulates its sleep cycles and gets you toward bedtime every night.

[Emily Kwong]

The pineal gland in our brain releases a bit of melatonin. So when people take synthetic melatonin in the form of a pill or a.

[Michael Scholsson]

Gummy, it also can have that experience of helping people feel a little bit more, a little bit more tired, a little bit sleepy in ways that a lot of people find helpful for getting to sleep.

[Emily Kwong]

Melatonin is widely considered safe for adults in low doses and for kids with certain neurological and neurodevelopmental conditions that get in the way of a good night's sleep.

[Michael Scholsson]

I think it's really important to understand that when families are seeking to help their children get a better night's sleep, it's not just like an abstract health goal that they're trying to solve. They're often really speaking into very real challenges and very real problems that are affecting all parts of a family and are also really affecting their kids flourishing.

[Emily Kwong]

But some experts worry that we don't know enough about how regularly taking melatonin affects kids in the long term. So today on the show Melatonin and Kids, what the research says, how Melatonin is being used and how to navigate obstacles forgetting kids kids, Enough Z's. I'm Emily Kwong and you're listening to Short Wave, the science podcast from npr.

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[Emily Kwong]

Okay, so Michael, we are talking today about melatonin. It is a hormone that the human body naturally produces. But I want to hear more about the history of this supplement. This is synthetic melatonin that a lot of people have started taking and some people are giving it to their kids. When did people start taking melatonin?

[Michael Scholsson]

So you really start to see an uptick in people taking melatonin in the 1990s. And there's this funny way in which you both have a lot of marketing and interest in it and research sort of coming and saying it. And at the same time you have this moment when supplements are being deregulated in the United States, meaning Congress has gotten together and said we're going to put a lot fewer restrictions on supplements and make it easier to sell things and make claims. You could find these articles where people are like, whoa, melatonin is the new hot thing. What do we make of it? And there's anxiety around that and there's excitement around that and it begins to be more widely used.

[Emily Kwong]

And that's mostly for adults. When did children start to use melatonin?

[Michael Scholsson]

A lot of the early news coverage or advertisements have something that says it's not for children. And then starting in the 2000s, that kind of like the age floor begins to drop in this really interesting way. By the late 2000s, you start to see some news reports of Parents using it, you start to see articles that are saying, well, maybe for kids older than 10, this makes sense, but not for really small kids. And over time that just kind of gets gradually lower and lower and lower. And even then, it's especially in the last few years that it seems to be that clinicians are reporting a real uptick in use.

[Emily Kwong]

Yeah. A lot of melatonin packaging is just very friendly looking. I mean, it's like these big bottles and the melatonin supplements come in sometimes very yummy flavors, sometimes they're gummies. So is it really being marketed to kids in a very deliberate way?

[Michael Scholsson]

I would say it's being marketed to parents in a very deliberate way, yes. And it's the bottles. It's a lot of the language around saying melatonin is safe and drug free and non habit forming. Right. These are all terms that you hear coming up again and again in this marketing.

[Emily Kwong]

Yeah. And I want to add here, a key distinction you make throughout this reporting is that melatonin is not a vitamin, it is a hormone. Why is that distinction so important?

[Michael Scholsson]

So melatonin falls into this really weird in between space where I think it's regulated as a supplement and a lot of people think about it as being harmless and natural. And it's also something that's a prescription drug in a lot of the world. Right. And is very much a drug. And I think there's like, legally it is not a drug. Legally it is classed as a supplement. And so it's legal to say that it's not a drug. But I think that that could create this weird thing where people think about it as being maybe a little different than what how researchers and physicians describe it, which is they're like, it's a hormone. It's a hormone you take in order to change something in your sort of create a change in your body. And in that sense it certainly, even if it is not legally a drug, it certainly is kind of being used like a drug and is acting like a drug.

[Emily Kwong]

Yeah. Let's talk about the research. So obviously there's not enough, but for what is available, what do sleep scientists have to say about kids taking melatonin?

[Michael Scholsson]

Sure. So as you just said, one thing they always say is there's not enough, which people say in almost every field.

[Emily Kwong]

It feels like it's true. We don't really know.

[Michael Scholsson]

We'd love to know more. But I think that this really is an area where, and this is something I heard again and again in interviews, where there is a sense that there is Very little research, especially on long term effects of melatonin. There's kind of two ways to break down what the science says, right? One is this, what does the science say about whether it works? And then what does the science say about whether it's safe? And in both cases, there's some uncertainty in terms of the what the science says about whether it works. The evidence that exists definitely suggests that, yes, it can help kids fall asleep a little bit earlier, maybe not dramatically earlier, but something kind of on the order of around 20 minutes, maybe a little bit more on average. And of course, that tracks with a lot of anecdotal evidence from parents who say it works. It helps. But there's also a question of whether children are actually better rested the next day. And there again, there's actually some limited evidence. There's not really that much evidence either way showing that children are actually better rested when they have taken melatonin versus they have not.

[Emily Kwong]

No, Melatonin is considered fairly safe and benign in terms of overdose potential. But if there are side effects to melatonin, what are they?

[Michael Scholsson]

This is again like such a big question to unpack. Right. But there are reasons to say, okay, it's fairly safe. I want to be careful not to generalize that, but one of the big questions is about short term and long term side effects. In terms of short term side effects, they could definitely be there that are typically recorded in the scientific research tend to be pretty mild. But some researchers feel like that research hasn't been that comprehensive or rigorous and that it's possible that there are kind of immediate or short term side effects that people just haven't really done a good job of tracking. And then in terms of the long term effects of children who are taking melatonin maybe four or five or six or seven times a week for years on end, that's a really big open question. I think some scientists look at that evidence and say, we see that it's helpful for families. We don't see obvious signs of concern. And again, it can be really helpful for people and it's worth doing. In many cases, it's still worthwhile. And then I think there are a lot of researchers who look at this and say, based on that unknown, we should be cautious. And the way that it's being used right now is many things, but it's not cautious. And that's a problem.

[Emily Kwong]

Was melatonin ever supposed to be taken long term? Because it seems like it's, it's. It was originally designed to be a sleep aid for A short term situation.

[Michael Scholsson]

Yeah. So I think we should kind of divvy this up for children in different situations. Right. So I think for children with some neurodevelopmental differences that can significantly affect their ability to sleep. Autism in particular, certain. Yeah. Certain manifestations of adhd. Okay. I think there has been more of a willingness to say, look, these are children who are having, in some cases a tremendous difficulty falling asleep. Not sleeping or not sleeping well can be, you know, can have some really negative long term effects. And it makes sense to perhaps use melatonin regularly in order to kind of. In order to do that, in order to be helpful.

[Emily Kwong]

It might be beneficial to them.

[Michael Scholsson]

Yeah, it might be beneficial. I think that the way that melatonin is used often right now, which is used regularly, often for neurotypical children who are perhaps sometimes taking the hormone a few times a week or every night with very little sort of supervision or input from a medical professional, is something that very few people intend. And even the supplement makers themselves will often include language to that effect on their bottles. But there's a real disjunct between kind of where that consensus is and how I think a lot of people are actually using melatonin.

[Emily Kwong]

Okay, for all the desperate parents hanging on your every word, what are, what do experts suggest for kids who have trouble sleeping, but they want to try other solutions first?

[Michael Scholsson]

Yeah, and I want to be really clear that I am not telling families, like, don't use melatonin or this is definitely dangerous. And I really don't want to be in any way sort of delivering that message. I think that parents have the right to know what debates among scientists look like and understand where there's uncertainty. And I also think that as parents, we're always having to weigh trade offs. This is just a huge part of parenting. And lack of sleep is itself something that can be really hard on families. And this makes sense. Like, I don't want to suggest that this is a clear cut, like parents stop using melatonin. I think a lot of sleep parents, experts perhaps predictably, would say talk to a sleep expert. And I think that one thing that they point out is that establishing good bedtime routines, doing things like avoiding screen time before bed, steps like that can be helpful. And I want to say I'm a parent who has implemented some of these behavioral interventions and still deals with totally chaotic bedtimes with one of my children. And so I don't want. I recognize that this doesn't always work or it doesn't always feel like it's gonna work or does it always sound realistic?

[Emily Kwong]

Well, we want kids to have a good night's sleep for sure. And we want parents to sleep too. So Michael, thank you for dipping your toe in the melatonin research waters so that we all can get a good night's sleep.

[Michael Scholsson]

Thanks so much for having me on here.

[Emily Kwong]

This episode was produced by Rachel Carlson, it was edited by our showrunner Rebecca Ramirez, and fact checked by Tyler Jones. Maggie Luthar was the audio engineer, Beth Donovan is our senior director, and Colin Campbell is our senior Vice President of Podcasting strategy. I'm Emily Kwong. Thank you for listening to Shortwave, the Science Podcast from N.

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