It’s 2 am and your kid is having trouble sleeping. You’ve stayed up late with them for the last 3 days and you’re really feeling the effects of sleep deprivation. You’ve tried your best to help them by establishing bedtimes and get them what they need but it doesn’t seem to be working.

You’re worried about how the lack of sleep is affecting your child so you go to your pediatrician and you ask about melatonin.

What is Melatonin

Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone, produced by our pineal gland, that helps our bodies sleep. Our bodies know when to produce it with the amount of daylight. As the sun goes down melatonin production rises and when the daylight increases in the morning the hormone decreases.

This “sleep hormone” helps to set our internal clock or circadian rhythm, and has also been found to play other important roles in our bodies.

Melatonin supplements are synthetic melatonin that mimics the effects, while not suppressing the body’s natural production. Most of the time it’s used for sleep support.

How much sleep does my child need?

While the quantity of sleep does vary depending on the person, here are the general standards.

Infants (4 - 12 months): 12 to 16 hours of sleep (this includes naps)

Toddlers (1 - 2 years): 11 to 14 hours of sleep (this includes naps)

Preschoolers (3 - 5 years): 10 to 13 hours of sleep (this includes naps)

Grade schoolers (6 - 12 years): 9 to 12 hours of sleep

Teens (13 - 18 years): 8 to 10 hours of sleep

Getting the sleep they need can help kids thrive! Children with enough sleep tend to have healthier immune systems, better behavior, mental health, memory, and perform better at school