In a study published in the journal Pineal Research, 5 mg of melatonin increased total sleep time compared to a placebo.
–
In a small study in healthy adults aged 55 years and older, 5 mg of melatonin prolonged total sleep time compared to a placebo.
Although recent research by the University of Cambridge and Fudan University has found that: Seven hours is the perfect amount of sleepMany Americans get less than that. In fact, 2014 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that 35.2% of American adults get less than 7 hours of sleep. Obviously, many of us could use the help to fall asleep faster and sleep better.
Melatonin is one of the most widely used dietary supplements in the United States. Among the elderly, its use has tripled in the past two decades. But there’s no consensus on the appropriate dose of melatonin, and studies of its effects on sleep quality in older adults have had mixed results. Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital conducted a study of 24 healthy older adults to assess whether high or low dose melatonin supplements can improve sleep. The team found that the higher dose had a significant effect, increasing total sleep time compared to the placebo by more than 15 minutes for nighttime sleep and half an hour for daytime sleep. The results are published in . format Conifer Research Journal.
melatonin It’s a hormone produced by the pineal gland in your brain in response to darkness. It helps set the timing of your circadian rhythms (an internal 24-hour clock) and regulate your sleep-wake cycle. Exposure to light at night can suppress the production of melatonin.
–
“Sleep deprivation becomes more common with age, and given the drawbacks of many sleep aids, many older adults report taking melatonin,” said senior author Charles Czeisler, chief of Brigham’s Division of Sleep and Daily Disorders. But we have little evidence of melatonin’s effects on sleep health in older adults. Our study provides new evidence and insight, pointing to the importance of considering dosing and timing when it comes to the effects of supplements such as melatonin, especially in the elderly. †
The body naturally produces the hormone melatonin, which helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle of the day and night. Melatonin levels peak at night. But in older adults, hormone levels are often lower. Exogenous melatonin is sold over the counter and can be taken at bedtime as a dietary supplement, usually in pill or capsule form.
To accurately assess the effects of melatonin supplementation, the study authors focused on healthy older adults with no history of serious sleep complaints. All potential participants were screened for sleep disorders. The study included 24 participants (13 women and 11 men), ranging in age from 55 to 78.
During the one-month study period, the participants lived in individual study rooms with no windows, clocks or other indications of the time of day. Participants followed a forced desynchronization protocol — instead of trying 24-hour cycles of day and night, they followed schedules of 20-hour cycles to separate the effects of resting activity from the circadian clock. This made it possible to go to bed at night and during the day, but with the same wake time for each sleep. The participants were randomly given placebo pills for two weeks and a low (0.3 mg) or high (5 mg) dose of melatonin 30 minutes before bed for two weeks. The researchers used polysomnography to record brain waves, eye movements, muscle tone and other important sleep stats.
The team found that low-dose melatonin did not lead to a statistically significant change in total sleep time and that the changes observed were when sleep was scheduled during the biological day. Participants who took the 5 mg dose had significant increases in total sleep time and sleep efficiency, regardless of whether sleep was restricted during the day or at night.
The authors note that their research needs to be repeated in larger studies and with other doses of melatonin to determine whether a dose between 0.3 and 5 mg might also work. The study did not include participants with severe sleep disorders, and the results of the study may not apply to people who suffer from it.
“It’s exciting to see evidence that melatonin may have an effect on older adults’ sleep at night because we know that many older adults have trouble sleeping,” said lead author Jane Duffy, MBA, Ph. Sleep and the biological clock. † “But before taking any dietary supplement, it’s important that people talk to their primary care physician and be referred to a sleep specialist to rule out an undiagnosed sleep disorder.”
Reference: “High-dose melatonin prolongs sleep duration during daytime and nighttime sleep periods in the elderly” by Jane F. Duffy, Wei Wang, Joseph M. Ronda, and Charles A. Conifer Research Journal.
DOI: 10.1111 / jpi.12801
Funding: This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grants P01 AG09975, AG06072, and AG044416), the Brigham and Women’s Hospital BRI Fund for Sustaining Research Excellence, and was conducted at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital General Clinical Research Center (supported by M01 RR02635).
Disclosures: Czeisler was a paid advisor to Physician’s Seal, Tencent Holdings and Teva Pharma, and is a paid advisor with an ownership interest in With Deep and Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. and was/was an expert witness in lawsuits, including those involving Vanda Pharmaceuticals; has been awarded a professorship at Harvard University by Cephalon, which was acquired by Teva Pharma; He receives royalties from Philips Respironics for his Actiwatch-2 and Actiwatch Spectrum devices.
–
