Some call it baby's "witching hour" but most of us know it can last much longer than an hour-- from 4p.m. to 9p.m. is usually the time frame. The most intense symptoms usually come around 7p.m. when you are trying to eat dinner or relax with the family. Suddenly crying, screaming, flailing arms and kicking legs are the baby's favorite thing to do; they have to do it as if driven by some malicious demon. Your baby cries, screams, and generally fusses unconsolably despite attempts to soothe him or her with feeding, rocking, bouncing up and down, and even desperate drives in the car.
New research suggests that the problem may be low melatonin. Is it just coincidence that the evening 'colic' magically disappears at around 9-12 weeks of age, just at the same time the pineal gland increases it's endogenous melatonin production to near adult levels?
The truth is melatonin is much more than a sleep hormone. It can release beta endorphins, and therefore act as an analgesic--relieving pain. It is an anti-oxidant, stimulating and balancing glutathione production, our most important reducer of free radicals in the body. Much research has shown that melatonin is useful in treating cancer, possibly due to it's anti-oxidant capacity. Melatonin stimulates prolactin (the milk producing hormone). Therefore moms that have low milk supply might be passing on milk that is low in melatonin.
Melatonin is found in breast milk in significant amounts in the evening and night hours whereas daytime levels in breast milk are undetectable. This could explain why a breastfed baby would calm down later in the evening when mom's melatonin production kicks in. Parents who insist on letting their child cry it out for 10-12 hours during the night when they want the baby to sleep could be depriving them of melatonin rich breastmilk. A formula fed baby obviously would also get less melatonin, and parents using pumped breastmilk could be giving their babies inconsistent amounts of melatonin, depending on when the breastmilk was pumped.
Most parents who come in to my office are hesitant to give their kids melatonin. The say their fear stems from melatonin being a hormone and the general thought in our minds is that we should not be giving our kids hormones (think hormones in cow milk, hormones in beef, steroid hormones--generally regarded as unsafe). However, a "hormone" is just a substance produced by the body that has a regulatory effect on an organ. Certain hormones have negative feedback loops, meaning when levels are high, endogenous (self) production drops. However, in the case of melatonin, we know that babies naturally get it through breast milk. Therefore, oral supplementation is a natural process. Also we know that when people take melatonin for jet lag, they do not become addicted to it, rather it aids the body in getting into a new pattern. Since melatonin levels will be low in the daytime, there is no constant high amount that would cause an negative feedback loop to kick in. Melatonin has a cycle and therefore endogenous production will kick in at the time when pineal gland production matures.
Parents of preemies know that this pineal maturation may take longer for their babies. Actually, when measured by the date of conception, preemie babies start producing their own melatonin at the same time as full term babies. However, since a preemie might have been born 8 weeks early, instead of quieting down at 10 weeks old, they quiet down at 18 weeks old--2 months more of evening 'witching hours' for those parents. This is especially true if these babies are formula fed and have been exposed to high amounts of artificial lighting in the NICU. (Light breaks down melatonin production; that is why our melatonin production is down in the daytime.)
Not every child responds well to melatonin--there are some people who, due to genetics, get revved up by melatonin. But in general, parents who try melatonin to help their kids get to sleep or stay asleep consider it a God send and only discontinue it because they fear they are getting their kids addicted.
This need not be a fear. However, if endogenous melatonin production doesn't seem to kick in, their are other avenues to investigate. Melatonin is made from serotonin, our happy, stress relieving neurotransmitter. Serotonin is made from 5HTP which is made from tryptophan, a protein in our food (high amount in turkey meat). Therefore, if tryptophan is low in the diet, if there is inadequate nutrient absorption, or if our enzymes making these important conversions are not present, melatonin will be low. Supplementing with these amino acids is a good way of increasing melatonin. Fixing digestive issues is also important.
However, for newborns, the pineal gland just isn't mature enough to produce melatonin. Since melatonin supplementation does not limit the maturation of the gland, it is completely safe to give melatonin to babies and small children. We already know that is it not only safe but beneficial to supplement adult cancer patients with melatonin. So don't be afraid the melatonin, just because it is labeled a "hormone".
How much is safe? Generally, melatonin is given in 0.5 to 3 mg dosages, one dose at bedtime. Melatonin comes in drops which makes it easy to give to babies and easy to adjust the dose. In our office, a 1 ounce bottle of melatonin contains 300 drops at 1mg per 5 drops, providing many nights of peaceful slumber. It is my belief that anyone at any age that needs help with sleep could benefit in many ways from supplementation of melatonin.
P.S. due to the unusually high number of emails I've received regarding this post, I've decided to add a caveat: I cannot diagnose or treat your child through email. I have already suggested in the above text dosages of melatonin to give and other problems that may be causing night time waking and fussiness including but not limited to: environmental problems, inadequate calorie intake, inadequate absorption of nutrients, other problems in the digestive tract, and genetic issues that cause neurotransmitter imbalances. Please consult a doctor, preferably a naturopathic doctor for problems with baby fussiness and waking that do not resolve with normal interventions. I would not recommend using melatonin during the daytime. A normal baby without pain or other issues will be generally happy and content during the daytime with normal care and attention from their primary caregiver. Also, for some reason I cannot view comments on the page. so if you want to ask a question, please give your email address so that I can answer it.
