The Better Sleep Council suggests supplements like melatonin, valerian root, 5-HTP and magnesium and calcium, may help promote healthy sleep patterns. A new study shows that Melatonin, a dietary supplement, can provide a real increase in actual sleep of beta-blocker using hypertension sufferers. This may be due to the fact that beta-blockers inhibit melatonin production during the night. There are over 20 million patients in the United States taking a type of medicine called beta-blockers for hypertension, anxiety, and cardiovascular issues. These patients are familiar with the sleep disturbances that often come along with taking these medicines.
The research team found an 8% improvement in the sleep efficiency of its 16 person test group. The patients acquired an extra 37 minutes of sleep on average a night compared to patients who received a placebo, and none of the adverse effects often associated with other sleeping medications were observed. While this is promising for hypertensive patients, it isn’t clear from this study if patients using beta-blockers for something other than hypertension will find relief with melatonin.
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