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Melatonin helps critically ill patients sleep Treatment with melatonin, a brain hormone that helps control the body's sleep and wake cycle, can help critically ill patients get a better night's sleep, according to a report in the journal Critical Care. Melatonin is also known to be a powerful antioxidant. Dr. Richard S. Bourne from Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, UK and colleagues examined the effect of melatonin versus placebo on sleep in 24 critically ill patients who were attempting to come off of a ventilator. At nighttime, melatonin-treated patients slept 3.5 hours, while those given placebo slept 2.5 hours. Although this difference was not considered significant from a statistical standpoint, other tests showed that the quality of sleep experienced by the melatonin group was much better. "We would like to follow this investigation with a larger study in critical care patients using a lower dose of melatonin," Bourne commented. He noted that the dose used in the current study was probably too high because melatonin levels were still elevated in the morning. Despite the promising results, there are many causes of sleep disturbances in critical care patients, he pointed out, so a single intervention, such as treatment with melatonin, is unlikely to have a dramatic effect. "Multi-component interventions that include attempts to reduce environmental disturbances, ventilator (discomfort), and inappropriate medication, as well as attempts to reinforce a patient's circadian rhythm, are probably required," Bourne concluded. SOURCE: Critical Care, April 18th online issue 2008 Dr. Cinque's comments: Melatonin is not a knockout pill, but it does help with sleep in a very safe and natural way. So, assuming you are middle-aged or older, I think it makes sense to take advantage of whatever benefit it can provide. Does anyone know of a good reason why not? If so, I would like to hear about it. Melatonin does a body good in so many ways that there are many people who take it who do not have the slightest problem with sleep- they do it for the other health benefits of melatonin, relating to immune system support, cardiovascular protection, antioxidant power, cancer prevention, and the hope of retarding the aging process (which has been clearly demonstrated in animals). However, to maximize the potential for sleep benefit, keep these points in mind: 1) Don't assume that higher doses of melatonin are more effective. It doesn't work that way. Many people find that 1 milligram (or even a fraction of a milligram) works best to aid sleep. VRP offers melatonin as small as 3/4 milligram. 2) If the capsules don't seem to work that well for you, the sublingual form of melatonin may work better to improve your sleep. It absorbs very quickly and goes right to work. It is especially useful if you find yourself taking melatonin when it is already very late, such as midnight or later. VRP does not offer a sublingual form of melatonin at this time, but one that I like very much is offered by Source Naturals. It's a little white wafer containing 2.5 mgs of melatonin and a smidgen of Vitamin B6, and it comes in either orange or peppermint. You might want to break it in half or even in thirds. You may have to experiment to find the dose that works best for you, but start low. Whether melatonin seems to help you a lot or only a little, at least it coaxes you towards the real thing, that is, real natural sleep and not some altered state of drug-induced unconsciousness. E-mail to a friend Previous Article Next Article |
