The Journal of clinical psychiatry
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Melatonin improves sleep quality of patients with chronic schizophrenia.
Accumulating evidence indicates decreased melatonin levels in patients with schizophrenia. Insomnia, mainly difficulty in falling asleep at night, is commonly reported in this population. Association of insomnia with low or abnormal melatonin rhythms has been repeatedly documented. Melatonin is an endogenous sleep promoter in humans. We hypothesized that insomnia in patients with schizophrenia may be partially due to diminished melatonin output. In this study, we measured melatonin output in patients with chronic schizophrenia and assessed the effects of melatonin replacement on their sleep quality. ⋯ Melatonin improves sleep efficiency in patients with schizophrenia whose sleep quality is low.