Problems With Sleep? How Melatonin Helped Us Overcome Sleeping Difficulties

Melatonin - what does it do?

The hormone melatonin is found naturally in the human body and it is used to manage sleep. A number of people have found melatonin nutritional supplements to be useful in getting to sleep, especially those who cannot produce sufficient quantities of melatonin naturally. The human body creates melatonin during times of darkness. So as the sun sets, or as lights in a room are dimmed, this unique hormone starts to help you feel sleepy. Some people may have problems producing enough of it and may encounter sleep issues. This is where melatonin supplements could be helpful.

Is it safe?

In a number of countries, Melatonin has either not been evaluated by national food and drug bodies or it's considered as a food supplement rather than a drug. Wherever it has been assessed, it's been found to be relatively safe whenever used properly. It might seem like practical sense, but you should not take melatonin when driving a car or working with mechanical equipment. If a lady is currently pregnant, it might also be unwise to take a melatonin supplement. Quite a few suppliers might not offer any advice in relation to giving to a child, so you should always talk to a medical doctor or pharmacist first. Supplementation by melatonin is for the purpose of aiding the body's normal way of causing you to sleep, rather than a medicine that's making the body to do something it was not made to do. It is always essential to eat healthily and exercise and carry out all of the generally suggested things you require to undertake to get to sleep. Supplementation with melatonin can in some circumstances benefit some individuals with problems with sleep, however for people that do not have a problem creating melatonin, it is unlikely to make any difference. Additionally it is probably not going to be useful to individuals who continue by having an harmful lifestyle.

Personal Experience

When our oldest son was a baby, we had a lot of trouble getting him to sleep. Every night since he was born, he would wake up crying every 20 minutes or so, and took ages to get to sleep. As you can imagine, both my wife and I were exhausted and got no answers from doctors. Everything was investigated, from reflux to croup, but it wasn't until our son was diagnosed with autism, that things began to fall into place. We discovered that many children with autism and other learning difficulties have trouble getting to sleep. Over time, his sleeping got better, but he would still have great difficulty getting off to sleep in the first place, often lying awake in his bed for hours. We read about the use of melatonin supplements and how some children don't produce enough melatonin. I also had always had problems getting off to sleep, so I tried it out on myself first over a couple of weeks, and found it made a great difference and no side effects. We then tried out a low does with out son and made such a difference. He takes his melatonin about half an hour before going to bed, and on going to bed can be asleep within 20 minutes. When we run out of supplements, we really notice a difference. We couldn't be without it now.