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| Research article summary (published 30 Mar 2002): |
Residual effects of daytime administration of melatonin on performance relevant to flight.
Full Abstract
There is a general consensus that melatonin possesses time-dependent hypnotic effects, but there is no information yet whether it has residual effects on neurobehavioral performance, especially after daytime administration. In the present study we investigated the possible residual effects of 3 mg melatonin on performance relevant to flight and on subjective feelings of sleepiness, arousal, activation and affect after a daytime nap, as a function of nap length. Fifteen reserve pilots of the Israeli Air Force participated in the study. The experiment consisted of four sessions during which either melatonin or placebo was administered at 16:00 h. In two conditions, subjects were allowed to sleep for 2 h (17:00-19:00 h) whereas in the other two only a 0.5-h nap was allowed. After the naps they started performing a flight simulator task every 2 h. Sleep efficiency significantly increased and sleep latency significantly decreased in both melatonin conditions compared to placebo. Flight performance was only mildly affected in the 0.5-h nap condition. Subjective assessment of sleepiness significantly differed between the two treatment conditions, only in the 0.5-h nap condition. Subjects felt sleepier 2-4 h after melatonin administration. To conclude, our data suggest that administration of melatonin before a brief daytime nap (about 0.5 h) may be associated with mild residual effects on psychomotor performance and may significantly affect subjective feeling of sleepiness for 2-4 h.
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Author information
Author/s: Nave, Rachel (R); Iani, Cristina (C); Herer, Paula (P); Gopher, Daniel (D); Lavie, Peretz (P);
Affiliation: Sleep Research Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Gutwirth Building, 32000, Haifa, Israel.
Journal and publication information
Publication Type: Clinical Trial; Controlled Clinical Trial; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Journal: Behavioural brain research (Behav Brain Res), published in Netherlands. (Language: eng)
Reference: 2002-Apr; vol 131 (issue 1-2) : pp 87-95
Dates: Created 2002/02/14; Completed 2002/05/03; Revised 2006/11/15;
PMID: 11844575, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)
Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.
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