Melatonin Is Safe and Effective for Inducing Sleep in Kids

Source: Epilepsia open

Summary

This study looked at how well melatonin works compared to sleep deprivation for helping children with epilepsy fall asleep during EEG tests. The researchers involved 33 children, with an average age of about 14.5 years. Each child experienced both methods: one time they took 5 mg of melatonin 30 minutes before the EEG, and another time they were kept awake the night before the test.

The key findings showed that children fell asleep slightly faster after being sleep-deprived (about 8.5 minutes) compared to when they took melatonin (about 10.1 minutes). However, the difference was small, and the study concluded that melatonin was just as effective as sleep deprivation for helping children sleep during the EEG. Additionally, melatonin was well-tolerated, meaning it didn’t cause significant side effects.

This research is important because it suggests that melatonin can be a safe and easy way to help children with epilepsy sleep during EEG tests, which can improve the quality of the recordings. While the study shows promising results, it’s worth noting that it involved a small group of participants, so more research is needed to confirm these findings in larger populations.

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