IUBio

melatonin and sleep....

Sophie Messager messager at jouy.inra.fr
Fri Dec 20 13:28:06 EST 1996


phis at sprynet.com (James Howard) wrote:

>I recently had the occasion to explain how wellbutrin (bupropion) may
>help people stop smoking; you can read it as "Bupropion, Smoking,
>Melatonin, and DHEA" at sci.life-extension and some other groups.
>During my work on this, I came to the conclusion that a small amount
>of melatonin should releive daytime fatigue and sleepiness.  This
>seems contradictory to most ideas about melatonin; I considered it
>contrary to my theory of sleep at http://www.naples.net/~nfn03605,
>but, again, my work on my bupropion idea suggested that it might work.
>Well, I have taken about 1 mg of melatonin a number of occasions
>during a time when I felt I would have to give up, due to fatigue or
>sleepiness, and go ahead and nap.  Well, this small amount of
>melatonin actually revives me; it takes about 20 mins for me to feel
>the effects.  This is so dramatic that I thought this newsgroup should
>know about this.  Please bear in mind that I also take DHEA, which I
>think is necessary for the effect.  I know how frustrating daytime
>fatigue and sleepiness can be.  I hope this works for others.
>James Howard
>

What you describes seems to me to be a typical placebo effect !!! I am 
currently completing my PhD on the effect of melatonin on reproduction. I 
known this hormone very well, and I can say that melatonin is a hypnotic 
hormone...I mean melatonin induces spleep!!! and  also decreases the 
arousal level of vigilance. I just can understand how it could help you to 
releive sleepiness!
What sort of melatonin capsules do you take? I mean in the 
US, most capsules in supermarkets or health food stores does not contain any 
melatonin...Be very careful with the melatonin sold in the US, 
because no FDA control is required for the "melatonin" synthesis that they 
contain. They may contain many other products...





More information about the Neur-sci mailing list

Send comments to us at biosci-help [At] net.bio.net