{"id":377430,"date":"2026-03-10T09:33:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T09:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/377430\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T09:33:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T09:33:11","slug":"dr-xand-alert-for-anyone-with-sleep-issues-taking-common-drug","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/377430\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr Xand alert for anyone with sleep issues taking common drug"},"content":{"rendered":"

The BBC expert explained the side effects people could face from contaminated purchases\"Dr<\/p>\n

Dr Xand on BBC Morning Live(Image: BBC)<\/p>\n

A BBC Morning Live expert has issued a warning to the millions of people affected by bad sleep. Dr Xand urged people not to turn to \u2018illegally\u2019 purchasing a drug that could leave them with contaminated medications <\/a>and side effects.<\/a> The expert said it’s vital instead to speak to a doctor as they can offer advice and support beyond medications.<\/a><\/p>\n

Dr Xand explained how people in the UK may be getting their hands on melatonin <\/a>medications \u201cillegally\u201d from others who have travelled to the United States. He said: \u201cIn the UK it\u2019s a drug, in America it\u2019s a supplement so it\u2019s way more popular and available.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople bring back large amounts, hand them out because it\u2019s thought to be safe and everyone\u2019s very vulnerable when it comes to their sleep. It\u2019s not illegal for you to buy, but it is illegal to sell it in this way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Person<\/p>\n

Melatonin can be bought like vitamins in the US, but is prescription-only in the UK(Image: GETTY)<\/p>\n

Melatonin is a hormone naturally produced in the human body that controls our sleep-wake cycle. It\u2019s become popular on social media, with many people flaunting the hormone in a range of items from pills to gummies and liquid drops.<\/p>\n

The expert highlighted the risks that people face when buying melatonin on the \u201cblack market\u201d, or not going through their GP. These include potentially getting drugs contaminated with substances \u201cmuch more dangerous\u201d than melatonin.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the doctor explained the effect of melatonin is likely not worth this risk. He said: \u201cIt\u2019s not a particularly effective drug for most things.<\/p>\n

“It works for jet lag, it does work a bit for insomnia in over 55s but you\u2019re talking about maybe getting 8 minutes more sleep a night.\u201d Millions of people in the UK struggle with their sleep and it can often cause issues like fatigue, brain fog and high blood pressure<\/a>. According to The Sleep Charity<\/a>, in the UK 37% of adults experience insomnia.<\/p>\n

Dr Xand urged people to go to their doctor if they are experiencing these issues as GPs can help provide medications, diagnose any underlying causes and provide you with reliable advice.<\/p>\n

Content cannot be displayed without consent<\/p>\n

If you are struggling with sleep, Dr Xand advised looking at some lifestyle changes first before heading to the medicine counter.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cGetting out of bed at the same time everyday is much more important than your evening routine in terms of timing.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoving your phone out of your bedroom makes a big difference. Blue light is not the thing here. What keeps you awake is what\u2019s on the phone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are natural ways to help your brain make (melatonin) in the right way at the right time and allowing your brain to naturally regulate your sleep-wake cycle. Your brain is making melatonin, allow it to work.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The BBC expert explained the side effects people could face from contaminated purchases Dr Xand on BBC Morning…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":377431,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[274],"tags":[173761,157,18,135,19,540,17,462,96,1565,543,384],"class_list":["post-377430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-bbc-television","tag-blood-pressure","tag-eire","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-insomnia","tag-ireland","tag-medication","tag-medicine","tag-nhs","tag-sleep","tag-united-states"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116204195353324943","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=377430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377430\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/377431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=377430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=377430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=377430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}