A review of sleep disorders and melatonin

Abstract

Sleep disorders are a group of conditions that affect the ability to sleep well on a regular basis and cause significant impairments in social and occupational functions. Although currently approved medications are efficacious, they are far from satisfactory. Benzodiazepines, antidepressants, antihistamines and anxiolytics have the potential for dependence and addiction. Moreover, some of these medications can gradually impair cognition. Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) is an endogenous hormone produced by the pineal gland and released exclusively at night. Exogenous melatonin supplementation is well tolerated and has no obvious short-or long-term adverse effects. Melatonin has been shown to synchronize the circadian rhythms, and improve the onset, duration and quality of sleep. It is centrally involved in anti-oxidation, circadian rhythmicity maintenance, sleep regulation and neuronal survival. This narrative review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of various therapeutic functions of melatonin in insomnia, sleep-related breathing disorders, hypersomnolence, circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders and parasomnias. Melatonin offers an alternative treatment to the currently available pharmaceutical therapies for sleep disorders with significantly less side effects.

Angelman syndrome: a journey through the brain

“…Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland during nocturnal periods to control the circadian sleep–wake rhythms by enhancing sleepiness (reviewed in Ref. ). There is evidence that insomnia described in AS children is caused by low levels of melatonin.…”

Insomnia in Peri- and Postmenopausal Women: Plasma Lipids, Lipid Peroxidation and Some Antioxidant System Parameters

“…It is well known that melatonin hormone is one of the key regulators of circadian biorhythms and violation of its secretion in menopausal women might lead to changes in metabolism and the formation of various diseases, including sleep disturbances. Studies carried out to date have been shown that people with insomnia have a lower melatonin level [55]; moreover, the peak of the hormone secretion is shifted, which have been demonstrated in the study on the association of melatonin, menopausal depression and sleep time. A delay in the peak of hormone secretion before morning have been revealed in women with menopausal depression, which, according to researchers, may be caused by longer sleep duration as a compensation for insomnia in these women [56].…”

Chronobiological Aspects of Sleep Disorders in Menopausal Women: The Role of Melatonin (Literature Review)

“…В настоящее время показано, что какие-либо изменения в работе циркадной системы повышают риск развития таких патологических состояний, как нарушения сна [46], аффективные расстройства [28], диабет [36], онкология [22], пре-эклампсия [16], ожирение [33], сердечно-сосудистые заболевания [39], репродуктивные нарушения [48].…”

“…Проведёнными к настоящему времени исследова-ниями показано, что люди, страдающие инсомниче-скими расстройствами, имеют более низкий уровень мелатонина [23,26,35,46]. Более того, при инсомнии не только меняется уровень мелатонина, но и смеща-ется пик секреции данного гормона, что было про-демонстрировано в работе по изучению ассоциации мелатонина, менопаузальной депрессии и времени сна.…”