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Updated: Sep 10, 2025

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Relationship of Melatonin Levels in Blood and Urine with Sleep Quality in Children Admitted to Pediatric Intensive

Miriam García-San Prudencio1,2,3, Gema Manrique1, Raquel Cieza1

  • 1Pediatric Intensive Care Department, Gregorio Marañón General University Hospital, 28009 Madrid, Spain.

Children (Basel, Switzerland)
|August 28, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) patients often experience poor sleep. Altered melatonin levels in children admitted to the PICU are linked to disrupted sleep patterns and reduced sleep duration.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Intensive Care
  • Sleep Medicine
  • Endocrinology

Background:

  • Sleep-wake cycle regulation is crucial for recovery in critically ill children.
  • Pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) environments can disrupt normal sleep patterns.
  • Melatonin is a key hormone regulating the sleep-wake cycle.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between blood and urine melatonin levels and sleep quality in children admitted to the PICU.
  • To determine if melatonin secretion patterns are altered in critically ill children.
  • To correlate melatonin levels with specific sleep parameters like duration and continuity.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective observational study was conducted at a single tertiary referral center.
  • Included were pediatric patients aged 1 month to 16 years admitted to the PICU.
  • Blood and urine samples were analyzed for melatonin levels, alongside sleep monitoring over 80 study days.

Main Results:

  • Only 8.5% of children achieved recommended nighttime sleep hours.
  • High morning serum melatonin correlated with increased nocturnal awakenings and fragmented sleep.
  • Altered morning urine melatonin levels were associated with shorter total sleep time.
  • Inadequate evening urine melatonin correlated with reduced continuous nocturnal sleep.

Conclusions:

  • Children in the PICU frequently experience insufficient sleep duration.
  • A significant proportion of these children show abnormal melatonin secretion patterns.
  • Altered melatonin secretion is associated with poorer nighttime sleep and increased daytime sleep in PICU patients.
Abstract

Keywords:
6-sulphatoxymelatoninPICUmelatoninsleep

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