Sleep
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Sleep-facilitating effect of exogenous melatonin in healthy young men and women is circadian-phase dependent.
To investigate the effects of a physiologic and a pharmacologic dose of exogenous melatonin on sleep latency and sleep efficiency in sleep episodes initiated across a full range of circadian phases. ⋯ Exogenous melatonin administration possesses circadian-phase-dependent hypnotic properties, allowing for improved consolidation of sleep that occurs out of phase with endogenous melatonin secretion during the circadian night. The results support the hypothesis that both exogenous and endogenous melatonin attenuate the wake-promoting drive from the circadian system.