Many people are suffering from delayed sleep phase syndrome or DSPS. In fact, many people who are complaining of sleep disorders, specifically complaining of insomnia are not actually suffering from insomnia but from delayed sleep phase syndrome. Symptoms of delayed sleep phase syndrome are somewhat similar with insomnia, however, delayed sleep phase syndrome does not have any problems in maintaining quality of sleep, unlike in insomnia. The problem with delayed sleep phase syndrome is that a person suffers from a delay of sleep onset in accordance with the conventional sleeping time.

Melatonin for Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome

Melatonin is a hormone that can signal the brain and the body that it is already time to sleep or in other words, melatonin is the hormone responsible for the proper regulation of your circadian rhythm (internal body clock). An alteration or an abnormality in the secretion of melatonin hormone can result to a circadian rhythm sleep disorder. In people with delayed sleep phase syndrome, there is a delay in the secretion of the hormone melatonin. There are natural melatonin supplements that can be taken by people suffering from DSPS or other sleep disorders to help them fall asleep on time and wake up the next morning early. But just like any other supplements, melatonin should be taken under your doctor’s supervision and ideally, children should not take melatonin supplements unless otherwise prescribed by a professional medical doctor.

Dosage of Melatonin Supplements

The right dosage of melatonin supplements will greatly depend on your doctor. Melatonin supplements even come in different forms, such as:

• Tablets
• Caplets
• Capsules
• Cream
• Lozenges

Each form even comes with different dosages. However, according to the researches and studies done by the University of Maryland Medical Center about melatonin supplements, they have come to a finding that the recommended dose of melatonin supplements for delayed sleep phase syndrome is 1 mg to 3 mgs taken at least 1 hour before desired bedtime. And if you find 1 mg to 3 mgs of melatonin supplements to be ineffective, increasing the dose of melatonin supplements to 6 mgs can be done. However, there were also studies and researches done by the Department of Neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine saying that taking melatonin supplements at least 1 hour before bedtime is not as effective as when a person takes melatonin supplements at least 6 hours and 30 minutes before bedtime.