The Clinical Utility of Dim Light Melatonin Onset in the Treatment of Delayed Sleep-Wake Phase Disorder: A Randomized Trial

2017 Strategic Research Grant

Leslie Swanson, PhD

University of Michigan

Key Project Outcome

This study tested whether measuring an individual’s circadian clock to determine when they should take low-dose (0.5 mgs) melatonin vs. estimating when they should take melatonin based on their sleep timing produces better treatment outcomes in adults with delayed sleep-wake phase disorder. After four weeks of 0.5 mgs melatonin, participants showed similar changes in their circadian clock timing and their sleep timing regardless of whether they were assigned to take melatonin 5 hours before their fall-asleep time or 3 hours before when their circadian clock started to produce melatonin in the brain. Both groups showed a similar circadian phase advance; their own circadian clock time shifted to about 90 minutes earlier after treatment. They also fell asleep earlier, woke up earlier, and reported less daytime impairment due to their sleep after treatment. Overall, the results of this study suggest that there is no advantage to measuring circadian timing when deciding when to time melatonin treatment for delayed sleep-wake phase disorder.

Meeting Abstracts

SLEEP

0039 The Clinical Utility of Dim Light Melatonin Onset in Treatment of Delayed Sleep-Wake Phase Disorder: Preliminary Findings

Journal Articles

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL SLEEP MEDICINE

Low-dose exogenous melatonin plus evening dim light and time in bed scheduling advances circadian phase irrespective of measured or estimated dim light melatonin onset time: preliminary findings