– If you take melatonin at the wrong time, it will have no effect. It can even increase the problems with getting to sleep, says Bjørn Bjorvatn. He is professor and head of the National Center for Sleep Medicine at Haukeland. But for a shorter period and when used correctly, it can work with artificial melatonin. – If the child does not sleep until late at night and has to get up early, then melatonin in the evening and the use of daylight in the morning can be beneficial. Then it usually lasts for three or four days maximum, and I would like to think that is relatively unproblematic, says Bjorvatn. Professor Bjørn Bjorvatn is an expert in sleep medicine. He believes melatonin should preferably be used in consultation with a doctor, but can be used as a last resort to return the circadian rhythm to normal. Photo: University of Bergen Ideally, he should have seen that the popular sleeping medicine was only sold by prescription, because there is a great risk of making a mistake. This is how the expert recommends using melatonin If you are going to use artificial melatonin, the most important thing is to take the hormone at the right time, and only for a short period. Here’s the advice from the sleep expert: Take melatonin twelve hours after waking up. That is, take melatonin at 11pm if you woke up at 11am. Move the time of taking melatonin one hour earlier for each day, until you take melatonin at, for example, 19:00, and have to get up at 7:00 the next day. The sleep expert explains that from the time we are very young, our brain produces the hormone melatonin, which helps to control our circadian rhythm. That is, when we get tired and when we wake up. During the holidays, many of us turn the clock around. We go to bed and get up later than usual. Then melatonin production in the brain is also shifted. For some, it becomes a challenge to get back to normal when you start work or school. – There are many reports of people passing out on the first days at work or school, and not being able to do anything in particular, says Bjorvatn. We met the Sunde family in Storgata in Bodø. Father Ole Sunde stands with children Aurora and Sjur. They turn the clock around during the holiday, but have a clear strategy to get back on track when the holiday draws to a close. Photo: Beth Mørch Pettersen / news Among those who have relaxed their sleep routines during the holiday is the Sunde family from Tysnes in Vestland. They have booked their holiday to Northern Norway this year. Father Ole tells about the children’s bedtime routines: – It can probably be described as miserable. It slips a little during the holidays, says Ole Sunde. – When we had breakfast this morning, the mini lay down again and slept until around 10-11. I think he fell asleep at 01 yesterday, according to himself. For son Sjur, it has been difficult to sleep. It is, among other things, about the snoring of some in the traveling party and the bright nights in the north. – If I am going to bed very early, then it must be completely dark. But here it is sunny all the time, he explains. More young people use melatonin Since 2019, sales of melatonin have almost doubled. Figures from the Association of Pharmacists show that more than 870,000 packs of the artificial hormone were sold in 2023. The figures only show what was sold through pharmacies, but since 2020 melatonin has been sold in normal grocery and health food stores. Pharmacist SM Rabbi Hossain Chowdhury at Apotek 1 Tordenskjold in Bodø, says that most of their sales take place via prescription. This means that a doctor has prescribed the medicine. Pharmacist SM Rabbi Hossain Chowdhury at Apotek 1 Tordenskjold in Bodø says most people buy melatonin with a doctor’s prescription. Photo: Beth Mørch Pettersen / news – We ask what difficulties they have with sleeping. If it is the case that they wake up several times during the night, we recommend a prolonged-release tablet. And if they struggle to fall asleep, we recommend short-acting tablets, explains Chowdhury. Most people who buy are over 70, but there has also become a large group under the age of 20 who use melatonin, according to the Association of Pharmacists. Recommends using daylight According to Professor Bjørn Bjorvatn, no harmful effects of artificial melatonin have been reported. It has been common to use for those who travel across time zones to prevent “jet lag”, and for those who have shift work. The hormone melatonin is sold as a dietary supplement in pharmacies, shops and health food stores, and has by a long way taken over the market for sleep medications. Photo: Benjamin Fredriksen / news But there is little research on the hormone and they know little about the long-term effects of its use. One concern is that long-term use may reduce the body’s ability to produce the drug naturally over time. In addition, incorrect use can exacerbate sleep problems. His top recommendation is to use natural methods to turn back the clock. How to turn the clock around without melatonin Photo: Benjamin Fredriksen / news Do not let the child or young person completely turn the circadian rhythm upside down during the holidays. If the circadian rhythm has shifted, the cheapest solution is to use daylight. The problem is that daylight too early in the morning will shift the circadian rhythm in the wrong direction. It is therefore important to know how the circadian rhythm is regulated in the brain. The professor preferably recommends a soft transition. The recommendation would be to expose yourself to daylight at eleven o’clock the first day, then ten o’clock the next day, then nine o’clock. This means that you should start a few days before starting work or school. If you have to get up early and have no alternative, he recommends wearing dark sunglasses for the first few hours after getting up. The Sunde family, who are on holiday in the bright north, have a clear strategy for turning around the clock when the holiday is over. – A week before the start of school, we start going to bed at the time we usually use, to get ready to start school again, says Aurora Fjeldet Sunde. – There are always a couple of days with a bit of running in, and then it’s back to normal. But we have been spoiled with kind children when it comes to laying. Or we are very good parents, depending on what, concludes dad Ole Sunde. Do you use melatonin to turn the clock around? Yes, of course, anything to sleep well! No, don’t dare to use artificial hormones. Unsure, will try natural methods first… Show result Published 07/08/2024, at 20.07
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A sleep expert believes that artificial hormones should be the last solution for children who want to sleep around the clock – news Nordland
