Sleepose 7.5MG (Melatonin)

Sleepose 7.5MG is Kachhela Medex's melatonin tablet, 7.5 mg, in a strip of 10 tablets. Melatonin is the hormone the pineal gland releases at night to signal sleep, and is taken as a tablet for sleep and jet lag.

Melatonin is used for short-term insomnia in older adults, for jet lag and shift-work sleep problems, and for delayed sleep phase. In children with some neurodevelopmental conditions it is prescribed under specialist care.

Melatonin acts on MT1 and MT2 receptors in the brain's body clock (the suprachiasmatic nucleus), signalling that it is night. It helps shift the timing of sleep rather than acting as a sedative, and levels fall with age.

The usual dose is 1 mg to 5 mg (some prolonged-release tablets are 2 mg) taken 30 to 60 minutes before the wished bedtime, on an empty stomach or after a light meal, for a short period. Higher doses of 7.5 mg and 10 mg are used in some markets, but more is not better. Follow your doctor and the pack leaflet.

• Daytime sleepiness, headache and dizziness.
• Nausea and stomach upset.
• Vivid dreams, irritability or low mood.
• Lower body temperature and, with large doses, a hormonal effect on the menstrual cycle.

Melatonin can make you drowsy, so do not drive or use machinery after a dose. It interacts with fluvoxamine, warfarin, anticonvulsants and sedatives. Not for pregnancy or breastfeeding unless advised, and ask a doctor before giving it to a child. It has no proven effect on slowing ageing.