OBJECTIVE: To determine whether doses of the pineal hormone melatonin alleviate jet lag. DESIGN: Double blind, placebo controlled crossover trial. SETTING: Long haul return flights from Auckland, New Zealand, to London and back. SUBJECTS:Twenty volunteers with experience of transcontinental flights (eight women and 12 men aged 28 to 68). INTERVENTIONS:Melatonin (or placebo) 5 mg three days before flight, during flight, and once a day for three days after arrival. END POINT: Symptoms of jet lag. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:Visual analogue scale for feelings of jet lag and tiredness; profile of moods states questionnaire for vigour-activity and fatigue-inertia; and retrospective ratings 10 days after arrival of sleep pattern, energy, and daytime tiredness. Feelings of jet lag were less for subjects taking melatonin (mean score 2.15 v 3.4); these subjects took fewer days than the placebo group to establish a normal sleep pattern (2.85 v 4.15), to not feel tired during the day (3.0 v 4.6), and to reach normal energy levels (3.25 v 4.7). Results for fatigue-inertia and vigour-activity were similar. For all subjects jet lag was more severe on the return (westward) than the outward (eastward) journey. CONCLUSIONS:Melatonin can alleviate jet lag and tiredness after long haul flights.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether doses of the pineal hormone melatonin alleviate jet lag. DESIGN: Double blind, placebo controlled crossover trial. SETTING: Long haul return flights from Auckland, New Zealand, to London and back. SUBJECTS: Twenty volunteers with experience of transcontinental flights (eight women and 12 men aged 28 to 68). INTERVENTIONS:Melatonin (or placebo) 5 mg three days before flight, during flight, and once a day for three days after arrival. END POINT: Symptoms of jet lag. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Visual analogue scale for feelings of jet lag and tiredness; profile of moods states questionnaire for vigour-activity and fatigue-inertia; and retrospective ratings 10 days after arrival of sleep pattern, energy, and daytime tiredness. Feelings of jet lag were less for subjects taking melatonin (mean score 2.15 v 3.4); these subjects took fewer days than the placebo group to establish a normal sleep pattern (2.85 v 4.15), to not feel tired during the day (3.0 v 4.6), and to reach normal energy levels (3.25 v 4.7). Results for fatigue-inertia and vigour-activity were similar. For all subjects jet lag was more severe on the return (westward) than the outward (eastward) journey. CONCLUSIONS:Melatonin can alleviate jet lag and tiredness after long haul flights.
Authors: Alejandro Ibáñez-Costa; José Córdoba-Chacón; Manuel D Gahete; Rhonda D Kineman; Justo P Castaño; Raúl M Luque Journal: Endocrinology Date: 2014-12-29 Impact factor: 4.736
Authors: A B Dollins; H J Lynch; R J Wurtman; M H Deng; K U Kischka; R E Gleason; H R Lieberman Journal: Psychopharmacology (Berl) Date: 1993 Impact factor: 4.530