Melatonin supplement could improve sleep in those taking beta-blockers

Patients taking beta-blockers often experience trouble sleeping but a new study claims that melatonin supplementation could help to counteract this problem.

Researchers at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in the US observed that individuals with hypertensions taking beta-blockers could improve their quality of sleep by taking supplements to increase melatonin production.

This process normally occurs at night, but beta-blockers are known to repress production.

Dr Frank Scheer, principal investigator on the study, commented: "Beta-blockers have long been associated with sleep disturbances, yet until now, there have been no clinical studies that tested whether melatonin supplementation can improve sleep in these patients."

The discovery was made when Dr Sheer and his colleagues analysed 16 hypertensive patients regularly medicated with beta-blockers. The participants were given either melatonin or placebo each night before bed. Those given melatonin were observed to have a better quality of sleep than their counterparts treated with the placebo.

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