Melatonin Helps Critically Ill Patients Sleep
Written By: Critical Care
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Published - Jun 11, 2008
Melatonin Helps Critically Ill Patients Sleep
Treatment with melatonin, a natural brain substance that helps control the body’s sleep / wake cycle, can help critically ill patients get a better night’s sleep.
A study was conducted on 24 critically ill patients who were on ventilators in the hospital. The ventilators, otherwise known as life support and as the breathing machines, help keep patients alive.
It has long been observed that patients on life support systems don’t sleep very well, because they are hooked up to a machine. In this study conducted at night, patients were given melatonin before sleep.
It was noted that those patients who were given melatonin slept an hour longer than most patients who were not. It should also be noted that there were no side effects observed.
This study was published in a journal called Critical Care. Researchers were pleased by this and planned to develop further studies on a larger number of patients.