Should I Take Supplements to Sleep? What Experts Think

If you want to understand the importance of sleep, ask someone who spent the previous night tossing and turning. Sleep is a vital function: essential for physical recovery, preparing for the next day, even clearing waste material from the brain. Mounting evidence suggests that getting adequate amounts of sleep each night is even more critical than previously believed, responsible for reducing the risk of serious conditions including dementia, obesity, and stroke. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Yet so many of us struggle to fall and stay asleep, with more than one-third of U.S. adults failing to get the recommended seven to nine hours of shuteye each night, according to a 2020 survey from the National Sleep Foundation. Many people are turning to over-the-counter solutions to help them get the rest they need. But do sleep supplements really work? Melatonin  Melatonin has emerged in recent years as one of the most popular sleep supplements, given its reputation for being effective as well as safe. Nearly two-thirds of adults say they’ve turned to melatonin to help them sleep, according to a 2023 survey from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). “It’s not something that is generally harmful or toxic, which is probably why people are tempted to take more when a little bit doesn’t work,” says Dr. Milena Pavlova, a neurologist at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital and an associate professor of neurolo...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Evergreen freelance healthscienceclimate Source Type: news