Is 10mg of melatonin too much for a 14 year old?

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asked Feb 2, 2022 in Kids Health by cardnumber1982282 (2,510 points)
Is 10mg of melatonin too much for a 14 year old?

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answered Feb 6, 2022 by garcia98 (2,180 points)
10mg of melatonin is too much for a 14 year old to take.

The recommended dosage for a 14 year old or those under age 18 is around 3 to 5 mg of melatonin.

A child or anyone else can OD or overdose on melatonin which can lead to seizures and other health issues.

Melatonin is relatively safe for children so long as the dose is appropriate.

However, the risks of a melatonin overdose are more severe for children, so should a child experience some of the more intense side effects of too much melatonin, medical attention should be sought immediately.

Most children who benefit from melatonin even those with diagnoses of ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorders don't need more than 3 to 6 mg of melatonin.

Some children benefit from as little as 0.5 mg before bedtime.

Younger children tend to be given 1 to 3 mg and older children/teens a little more.

Melatonin cannot cause weight gain but poor sleep and lack of sleep is associated with weight gain.

The use of melatonin can cause seizures in people who already have seizures or those who have a high risk of seizures.

Melatonin can stimulate immune function and interfere with immunosuppressive therapy.

Seizure threshold lowering drugs.

Taking melatonin with these drugs might increase the risk of seizures.

Melatonin can become addicting for some people.

However for most people melatonin is not addicting or habit forming as long as you use the melatonin for short term sleep problems.

If you accidentally take melatonin during the day it may cause you to experience drowsiness and may cause you to fall asleep.

So if you did take some melatonin during the day you should avoid driving, operating machinery etc until the melatonin has time to wear off.

Melatonin is a hormone that naturally occurs in the body to help people sleep.

Although some people don't produce enough of the melatonin hormone which can cause them to have trouble sleeping so in those cases some people need to take melatonin supplements to help increase the amount of melatonin in their body.

Melatonin is a hormone primarily released by the pineal gland at night, and has long been associated with control of the sleep–wake cycle.

As a dietary supplement, it is often used for the short-term treatment of insomnia, such as from jet lag or shift work, and is typically taken orally.

Melatonin supplements typically begin to kick in between 20 minutes and two hours after ingestion, which is why taking one to three milligrams two hours before bedtime is a good idea.

Taking too much melatonin can actually cause rebound insomnia either rendering the supplement ineffective or worse, exacerbating your already sleepless nights further.

You only need tiny doses of melatonin to support your natural sleep cycle.

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