Melatonin Side Effects – Not a few people who rely on drugs to sleep soundly at night. Among the many drugs available, melatonin pills are one of the most commonly chosen.
Not denied, melatonin pills are effective for making you fall asleep at night. However, this drug should apparently not be consumed carelessly or must be based on a doctor’s prescription.
In fact, careless consumption of melatonin pills can even cause side effects that harm your health.
Melatonin is actually a substance produced naturally by the body to regulate the sleep cycle.
(There is also) melatonin that is sold or served in pill form. This is usually used as a therapy for sleeplessness or mild insomnia.
For example, if you’ve recently experienced jet lag from going to a country with a different time zone, melatonin pills could be a solution to it.
Melatonin pills can indeed increase the hormones that regulate sleep, so a person can be sleepy. However, this medicine should not be taken carelessly without the close supervision of a doctor.
Melatonin Side Effects
If you force yourself to take melatonin pills without a recommendation or prescription, you are at risk of experiencing various adverse health side effects.
Headache
Although the side effects of taking too much melatonin are usually mild but unpleasant. Well, one of the most common consequences is headaches. Taking too much melatonin can have the opposite effect and interfere with normal sleep function when you’re dealing with a pulse.
But sometimes, you don’t need to take a lot of melatonin to feel this effect. You may be more sensitive to supplements and start feeling them even after the right low dose.
Dizzy
In addition to headaches, taking too much melatonin can also cause dizziness. That’s because your body is trying to get a normal, good night’s sleep. Meanwhile, excess hormones that can make you feel abnormal, so as to cause dizziness.
Sleepy
The biggest side effect that comes from melatonin is actually excessive fatigue or drowsiness. In some individuals, their bodies are unable to process supplements quickly so they still experience the effects of drowsiness after waking up.
Insomnia
For some people, melatonin can make it difficult to sleep. The body naturally produces a surge in melatonin around 7 p.m. That’s why melatonin supplements should be taken before 7 o’clock to help increase your body’s natural production and send a message to the brain that bedtime is coming. If it exceeds that time, you may have trouble sleeping.
Digestive problems
Nausea, constipation and abdominal pain are common reactions of the body to medications, including melatonin supplements. The ingredients in the medicine can cause irritation to your digestive system.
Hypothermia
Hypothermia is a condition of the body that has difficulty coping with cold temperature pressure or body temperature that is below 35 degrees Celsius. Chemicals such as melatonin can cause hypothermia. Symptoms of hypothermia include gray-smelling skin, blood pressure, and muscle contraction. For those who experience symptoms of hypothermia, they can overcome it by keeping away objects that cool and provide body warmers.
Mood swings
Experiencing other unpleasant side effects is that it can make you feel easily anxious and irritated. Because separately, it floods the body with too much sleep hormones can disrupt the natural circadian rhythm.
According to research, it can interfere with your ability to regulate your mood and stress hormone levels. Although the mood swings triggered by melatonin are not very significant and will go away on their own.
But if you raise the dose, extreme or long-term mood swings can be a sign of a bigger problem. So, if you notice a significant change in this sign, stop taking it and consult a doctor.
Source:
- Image: Murrur, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Video: HEALTHY LIFESTYLE