The Impact of Melatonin Lotion on Actigraphy, Sleep Quality, Autonomic Nervous System Indicators, Mood, Anxiety Symptoms, and Side Effects
University of Redlands
Summary
The purpose of this study is to examine the effect that melatonin lotion has on sleep quality, the nervous system, and mental health. Melatonin is a hormone secreted by the brain that regulates sleep and might improve depression and anxiety symptoms. The goal is to determine whether melatonin in lotion form is an effective treatment for young adults with inadequate sleep and might improve mental health. Participants will fill out surveys, wear an actigraph (a wrist-worn device that measures sleep), wear a heart rate monitor (a strap worn around one's chest), and provide nightly saliva samples during treatment weeks. In one of the two treatment weeks, participants will receive a lotion that contains melatonin. During the other week they will receive a control treatment that will be lotion with no melatonin, and there will be a week in between with no treatment at all.
Description
All participants will receive a melatonin lotion and a placebo lotion in a randomized crossover design. Participants will receive equipment and supplies on a Monday and will begin the assigned treatment that night, by self-applying premeasured lotion 1 hour before bedtime. During the two treatment weeks, participants will wear ActiGraph GT3X-BT accelerometers (ActiGraph, Pensacola, FL) at all times except when bathing or submerged in water. They will wear Polar H10 heart rate monitor chest straps (Polar Electro, Kempele, Finland) from one hour prior to bedtime until after a 5 min sitting perio…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–21 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * a T score ≥ 48 on the sleep disturbance short form Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) measure, and * a T score ≥ 55 on the anxiety or depression short form PROMIS measures (mild symptoms or more) Exclusion Criteria: * currently using antidepressant, anti-anxiety, or sleep medication including melatonin * are pregnant * have allergies/sensitivities to scented lotion * are unwilling to commit to keeping a similar bedtime (± 1 hour) during treatment weeks.
Interventions
- OtherMelatonin lotion
3 g lotion applied one hour before bedtime
- OtherPlacebo lotion
3 g of placebo lotion (scent-matched control) applied one hour before bedtime
Location
- University of RedlandsRedlands, California