Melatonin, a naturally occurring human hormone, is commonly used as a over-the-counter sleep aid. But while many are familiar with one seemingly positive effect of melatonin, the negative effects might change the way people treat it as a supplement.

“Any person in the sleep world will tell you the same thing: Melatonin is not harmless, is vastly overused and should not be used as a sleep aid to treat insomnia,” Michael Grandner, a sleep researcher at the University of Arizona, told the Huffington Post.

Natural melatonin is produced by the pineal gland, a part of the human body that aids sleep and “resets” a person’s internal clock to cope with things like jet lag and daylight savings.

The potential risk emerges from the fact that the effects of synthetic melatonin have not been thoroughly researched, and since the product is classified as a “dietary supplement,” it is virtually unregulated by the FDA.

more at Source: Think Melatonin Is Harmless? Think Again. | TheBlaze.com