Melatonin News and Research

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Melatonin, also known chemically as N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine, is a naturally occurring compound found in animals, plants, and microbes. In animals, circulating levels of the hormone melatonin vary in a daily cycle, thereby allowing the entrainment of the circadian rhythms of several biological functions.

Vanderbilt sleep specialists offer tips to manage daylight saving time transition

When daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 6, we set clocks back one hour, and essentially gain an extra hour of sleep—but that extra hour of sleep comes at the price of early evening darkness.

2 Nov 2016

Regulating mealtimes during days off can help alleviate jet-lag in long-haul cabin crew

A study published today in the journal Psychology and Health has found that jet-lag in long-haul cabin crew is alleviated when meal times are regulated on their days off.

6 Oct 2016

Prescription sleep aids may stimulate suicidal thoughts or actions

Prescription sleep aids appear to carry a rare risk of suicide, most typically when they cause the unexpected response of stimulating rather than quietening patients, researchers say.

4 Oct 2016

Melatonin appears to suppress growth of breast cancer stem cells

Melatonin, a hormone produced in the human brain, appears to suppress the growth of breast cancer tumors.

23 Aug 2016

Research highlights interaction between biological clock and sleep loss at regional brain level

Ever wondered what happens inside your brain when you stay awake for a day, a night and another day, before you finally go to sleep? In a new study published today in the journal Science, a team of researchers from the University of Liege and the University of Surrey have scanned the brains of 33 participants across such a 2-day sleep deprivation period and following recovery sleep.

11 Aug 2016

NLCs packed with melatonin could increase effectiveness of tamoxifen drug

Tiny bubbles filled with the sleep hormone melatonin can make breast cancer treatment more effective, which means people need a lower dose, giving them less severe side effects.

14 Jun 2016

Late sleep timing linked to lower BMI, poorer diet quality and lower physical activity

A new study suggests that among healthy adults with a habitual sleep duration of at least 6.5 hours, late sleep timing was associated with higher fast food consumption and lower vegetable intake, particularly among men, as well as lower physical activity.

9 Jun 2016

Melatonin can be of great value for elderly people suffering from hypertension

The older we get, the more likely our circadian rhythms are disrupted. For example, blood pressure (BP), not only tends to increase but as well become more irregular. Luckily, as we show in our research, melatonin helps to ameliorate both trends.

18 May 2016

Sleep hormone melatonin may be responsible for type 2 diabetes risk among overnight workers

A new experimental and clinical study from Lund University in Sweden shows that the sleep hormone melatonin impairs insulin secretion in people with a common gene variant.

13 May 2016

Exposure to blue light may lead to eyestrain but does not damage retina

Nearly 90 percent of adults use digital devices for two or more hours per day, according to The Vision Council's 2016 Digital Eye Strain Report, exposing consumers to blue light that some suggest is dangerous.

26 Apr 2016

Research: X and Y DNA swapping may occur more often than previously thought

It turns out that the rigid "line in the sand" over which the human sex chromosomes---the Y and X--- go to avoid crossing over is a bit blurrier than previously thought. Contrary to the current scientific consensus, Arizona State University assistant professor Melissa Wilson Sayres has led a research team that has shown that X and Y DNA swapping may occur much more often.

24 Mar 2016

Vanderbilt sleep specialist provides important tips for easing into seasonal time change

The Monday after daylight saving time takes effect doesn't have to be a heart-stressed, mad-dash, car-crash kind of a day.

10 Mar 2016

Children taught at home get more sleep than others

A new study published in Behavioral Sleep Medicine shows that children who are taught at home get more sleep than those who go to private and public schools. The findings provide additional evidence of teens' altered biological clocks and support an argument for starting traditional high school later in the morning.

3 Mar 2016

National Bed Month: Five tips for a perfect sleep routine

This National Bed Month Sleep Practitioner & Sleep Environment Expert James Wilson has shared his five steps to a perfect sleep routine which includes using nature’s most effective relaxant… magnesium.

From BetterYou Ltd 2 Mar 2016

Irregular sleep schedules linked to adverse metabolic health in midlife women

A new study suggests that frequent shifts in sleep timing may be related to adverse metabolic health among non-shift working, midlife women.

1 Feb 2016

IU researchers discover hormonal mechanism that links short winter days with increased aggression in females

Indiana University researchers have discovered a hormonal mechanism in hamsters that connects short winter days with increased aggression in females, and that it differs from the mechanism that controls this same response in males.

18 Nov 2015

Treating insomnia through a CBT device? An interview with Dr Ebrahim

Insomnia refers to a clinical condition that is characterised by one or more of the following – difficulty initiating sleep and/or maintaining sleep and/or waking up too early AND associated with symptoms the next day such as sleepiness, lethargy, loss of concentration.

16 Nov 2015

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