Archives of gerontology and geriatrics
-
Arch Gerontol Geriatr · Mar 1997
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialImprovement of sleep quality by controlled-release melatonin in benzodiazepine-treated elderly insomniacs.
Benzodiazepines are widely used in the elderly population for the initiation of sleep. However, very frequently, complaints about poor sleep maintenance persist despite benzodiazepine treatment. Melatonin, a hormone produced by the pineal gland at night, is involved in the regulation of the sleep/wake cycle. ⋯ Subjects' sleep was assessed by wrist actigraphy. Melatonin treatment significantly increased sleep efficiency and total sleep time and decreased wake after sleep onset, sleep latency, number of awakenings and fragmental index, as compared to placebo. The results of our study indicate that melatonin replacement therapy can improve sleep quality in the elderly and that the beneficial effects are augmented in the presence of benzodiazepines.