‘Magic Pill’ Melatonin May Delay Puberty, Development in Children

Melatonin, known as the 'magic pill' to make children fall asleep, may delay puberty and overall development if consumed regularly over a period of time, a Canadian research revealed.

Nearly 25 percent of children and half of them with mental and physical health issues have difficulties falling asleep, stated a report by the Canadian Sleep Society. Melatonin is a hormone made by a part of brain that helps the body know it's time to sleep. Melatonin, also available in pills form, is usually used to treat insomnia and other sleep disorders. However, little is known about how effective it is in treating the disease.

According to Dr Shelly Weiss, a neurologist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and president of the Canadian Sleep Society, the long term consumption of melatonin by healthy children is risky. "It's being touted as this magic pill," said Dr Weiss, who is studying the use of melatonin supplements for improving sleep in children with epilepsy. "There's definitely potential risk, mostly to delayed puberty or delayed development in children who have taken it for a long time." She added that the melatonin supplements contain between 25 to 50 times as much melatonin as the body makes at night.

But for children with autism and cerebral palsy, melatonin is a boon. Dr Weiss mentioned that melatonin effectively helps these children sleep combined with behavioral strategies.

Echoing Dr Weiss' opinion, Toronto pediatrician Dr Marvin Gans said that melatonin is very useful for autistic and ADHD children. "For those parents (of autistic and ADHD children), it's been a godsend." But he said that it may be harmful for healthy children as its long-term effects remain unclear. "Certainly there's a buzz on it now," said Dr Gans. "That's part of our quick-fix society where people want to get the kids to sleep quickly. We play until X hour and then they want them to be asleep in the next three minutes."

Dr Weiss suggested that parents should make their children sleep naturally without the help of any pills."There's definitely concern that people are going to use it more widely and not appreciate that their child can learn to sleep better without a hormone being given."