From
NPR:
Convenience stores are filled with energy-boosting products; it seems some companies would be happy if we never slept a wink.
But now there's a movement in the opposite direction: products with names such as Simmer, Unwind and Lazy Cakes. That last one, Lazy Cakes, is a particularly hot seller.
It's a reasonable suspicion for customers to be a little wary of the fudgy brownies with the psychedelic purple package for sale next to the cigarette lighters at gas stations. The label says Lazy Cakes are "The Original Relaxation Brownie." Even at $4 apiece, a clerk at a Charlotte, N.C., gas station says she sells about 36 a week.
They're packed with
melatonin, which occurs naturally in the body and is a common sleep aid.
Rumors are rampant they contain the same synthetic marijuana compounds found in herbal incense products like Spice or K2.
Read the fine print and you'll also see Lazy Cakes are for adults only and should not be mixed with alcohol or eaten before driving. It's the usual FDA-required label you find on dietary supplements, and that makes them legal.
In large quantities, melatonin can lead the central nervous system to slow down and cause trouble breathing. More commonly, people just get really sleepy and maybe nauseated.
Children are at greater risk. There's been at least one report of a toddler in Tennessee eating a Lazy Cake and ending up in the hospital. National poison center data show melatonin prompts more calls than any other herb or supplement.