The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 55, Ed. 1 Sunday, January 5, 1997 Page: 46 of 54
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------->— — 18313-30012-001 |
I Issued in a Worldwide Limited Edition. ;
______~ M M M M. M W W M M, — » ~
| SPECIAL HEALTH REPORT
Melatonin: the
natural nightcap?
The supplement
superstar is touted
as a natural sleeping
pill. But is it safe?
Melatonin is the new supple-
ment superstar, hyped in the
news media and dozens of
books. More than 20 million
Americans took it last year to help
them sleep better or to beat jet lag.
U.S. sales of the over-the-counter
supplement total $200 million to
$350 million a year. “Melatonin is
big and it's going to get bigger,”
says family physician Ray Sahelian,
author of Melatonin: Nature’s Sleep-
ing Pill. But is it safe? Does it work?
The good: Most experts agree
pure melatonin is safe. “We’ve been
studying this molecule for more
than 15 years, and there’s no reason
to think it poses any danger,” says
Russel Reiter, a biochemist at the
University of Texas at San Antonio.
As for its ability to induce sleep,
researchers have long known that a
gland in the brain produces mela-
tonin in response to darkness,
preparing the body for sleep. In
terms of cost, melatonin is far less
expensive than prescription drugs
(average cost: $9 for 100 pills).
Sahelian recommends no more
than 1 milligram, taken an hour
before you want to fall asleep. Use
melatonin for occasional bouts of
insomnia — twice a week tops.
Melatonin also helps reset the
body’s inner clock to a 24-hour cycle
and can prevent or reduce jet lag.
The iffy: Melatonin’s use as a
sleeping pill is controversial. Lim-
ited studies are mixed. Some vol-
unteers fell asleep faster, some did
not. Melatonin is not regulated by
the FDA, and one recent test of five
commercial products found one that
contained just half the melatonin
claimed. Also, melatonin may exac-
erbate depression, a common cause
of insomnia. Taken at the wrong
time of day, it can cause drowsiness
and impair job performance. Until
large-scale studies are done, the cur-
rent melatonin rage is an enormous
uncontrolled experiment, with us as
the guinea pigs. E3 — Peter Jaret
20 ISA WEEKEND •tn.t-S.m?
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Dobbs, Gary. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 55, Ed. 1 Sunday, January 5, 1997, newspaper, January 5, 1997; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1176791/m1/46/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.