Re: melatonin (was: RE: High Technology...)

From: ct (tilley@att.net)
Date: Sat Jan 06 2001 - 09:43:56 MST


> Emlyn:
> > >...I seem to
> > >have buckled the wheel on my sleep cycle; I'm all over the place.

Anders:
> .... I only use it(melatonin) to adjust my circadian
> rhythm, nothing more.

> "<" <f27846532@mindspring.com> writes:
> > ...And it's a great, cheap anti-aging supplement.

>...the important
> question is whether there is good evidence that it has a significant
> effect on the aging process itself (and not just on the symptoms or
> other confounding variables) and that it works in humans in that
> respect. There seems to be very scant evidence for that right now. I'm
> not ruling out that melatonin could have beneficial aging effects, but
> it is hardly a magic bullet.

JAMA 16Aug00
[The researchers collected data from sleep studies conducted between 1985
and 1999 on 149 healthy men aged 16 to 83.]

Aging alters sleep and hormone levels sooner than expected:
http://www.uchospitals.edu/news/Soma.html

[The first stage of deterioration of sleep due to aging occurs between young
adulthood (ages 16 to 25) and mid-life (35-50). Although total sleep
remained constant as young adults moved into mid-life, the proportion of
slow wave or deep sleep decreased from nearly 20 percent of a normal night's
sleep for those under 25 to less than five percent for those over 35. Growth
hormone secretion, which occurs primarily during deep sleep, also declined
by about 75 percent.]

[By mapping out the effects of aging on sleep quality and hormone
production, this study suggests new ways to intervene in the aging process.]

]"It is a tantalizing concept," said Van Cauter. "We are developing
medications that can, in part, restore the capacity for deep sleep. If we
could slow down the age-related changes in sleep quality, would that delay
some of the many hormonal consequences of growing older?"]



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