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or memory impairment or daytime drowsiness from benzodiazepine use may respond to
melatonin with fewer adverse effects.
- SUGGESTED BUT UNPROVEN USES: SLEEP PATTERNS: Mischoulon and Rosenbaum
(through Zhdanova, I.V. and Friedman, L.) conclude, significantly, that changes in melatonin
levels are not part of the genesis of age-related insomnia or psychiatric diseases. However,
a number of clinical symptoms characteristic of these disorders, such as sleep alterations
and anxiety, might benefit from timely melatonin treatment, given the strong “indirect signs
of a close relationship between melatonin and sleep....Collectively, the available data on
the effects of melatonin on sleep suggest that a nocturnal surge in melatonin production
may be an important factor in normal human sleep regulation, and that melatonin
deficiency might contribute to an altered sleep pattern.” 13
- SUGGESTED BUT UNPROVEN USES: CIRCADIAN SLEEP DISORDERS [CYCLICAL MELATONIN
DEFICIENCY] As in her 2001 study (cited by Brown et al.), Zhdanova (writing in Mischoulon
and Rosenbaum) asserts fairly weakly that, “...melatonin MIGHT provide a useful tool for
improving sleep and mood in those people who suffer from psychiatric disease, circadian
sleep disorders [cyclical melatonin deficiency], or insomnia of other origin.” 14
- SUGGESTED BUT UNPROVEN USES: MAJOR DEPRESSION, SEASONAL AFFECTIVE
DISORDER, AND DRUG WITHDRAWAL: Mischoulon and Rosenbaum suggest broadly that,
“the observed effects of melatonin treatment on sleep and mood might be of substantial
benefit to patients suffering from a variety of psychiatric disorders that are typically
associated with insomnia and anxiety, including major depression, seasonal affective
disorder, schizophrenia, or drug withdrawal syndrome."
- INSOMNIA IN DEMENTIA, RAPID EYE MOVEMENT BEHAVIOR DISORDER, INSOMNIA IN
PEOPLE WITH AUTISM AND “SUNDOWNING” /SLEEP PATTERN ADJUSTMENT According to
Brown et al., melatonin is particularly useful in treating, “delayed sleep phase syndrome,
