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As every parent who has brought home a newborn knows, those sweet bundles of joy have no regard for the normal sleep-wake patterns of adults.
Happily, as circadian rhythms develop, most little ones will eventually settle into a predictable sleeping pattern. But as many as 50 percent of children will experience sleep problems at some point, leading tired and frustrated parents in search of ways to help their children (and themselves) fall asleep—and stay asleep.
Melatonin supplements have been used for decades by adults hoping for a better night's sleep and, according to the National Institutes of Health, their use more than quintupled between 1999 and 2018. As so many more adults have turned to over-the-counter melatonin supplements in recent years, it’s not too surprising that many of them are also giving them to their children. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) reports that melatonin supplements are now the second most popular supplement given to children, beaten only by multivitamins....