Can You Take Melatonin With Temazepam?

Answer

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There is a potential interaction between melatonin and Restoril (temazepam) since both can cause sedation. Therefore, there is a risk of additive effects in this regard.

What Is Melatonin?

Melatonin is a hormone that is naturally produced in the body by the pineal gland.

It plays an important role in many bodily processes, such as regulating our circadian rhythm, which is the internal clock that controls the sleep-wake cycle.

Melatonin levels naturally rise in the evening as it gets darker, promoting feelings of sleepiness and helping us fall asleep.

Melatonin supplements are often used to treat insomnia or other sleep disorders, especially when related to disruptions in the circadian rhythm, such as jet lag or shift work. Melatonin supplements are widely available over-the-counter, and many people take them to help improve sleep quality and duration, as well as to help get your body 'back on schedule'.

Melatonin With Benzodiazepines

Melatonin supplements will nearly always have an interaction listed between any drug, or drug class, that causes sedation or is classified as a CNS (central nervous system) depressant, and this certainly includes Restoril (temazepam), a benzodiazepine.

Benzodiazepines are a class of psychoactive drugs that are commonly used to treat anxiety, insomnia, and other related conditions.

While effective, benzodiazepines have a high potential for abuse and dependence, and when combined with CNS depressants, such as alcohol or opioids, they can increase the risk of serious side effects, such as respiratory depression, sedation, and overdose.

Now, melatonin is not considered a CNS depressant.

It does not directly affect the activity of neurotransmitters in the brain, like GABA. Instead, as mentioned above, it regulates the body's circadian rhythm and promotes sleep by interacting with a number of different receptors in the body.

While melatonin may have sedative effects, it is generally not thought to have the potential to cause respiratory depression or other CNS depressant effects (which is a major concern with benzodiazepines).

So, what we are concerned with in regard to melatonin and Restoril (temazepam) is the additive sedative effects.

This may not be a big deal to you if you are just taking melatonin at night to help you sleep.

Nevertheless, it is important to be aware that this combination can increase drowsiness and impair cognitive and motor functions, which may be unsafe for activities that require alertness and concentration, such as driving.

As a final note here, it is worth mentioning that multiple studies, including one published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, have shown that taking melatonin supplements can alleviate the unpleasant symptoms associated with benzodiazepine withdrawal. These studies have noted no apparent risk of severe side effects when both melatonin and benzodiazepines are taken together.

Final Words

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