Efficacy of Melatonin for Sleep Disturbance Following Acquired Brain Injury

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Sleep disturbance occurs in a significant proportion of the Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) population. Traumatic Brain Injury, a type of ABI, has been associated with reduced sleep quality, more night-time awakenings and longer sleep onset latency's. Recent research has shown that TBI patients have significantly lower endogenous concentrations of melatonin in the evening as compared to healthy controls. Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone in the body which is intricately involved in the regulation of sleep and more importantly with the timing of sleep. Specifically, recent work has shown that this reduced concentration of melatonin was related to reduced rapid eye movement sleep and that these patients had more arousals during the evening. In light of recent work which provides evidence that a prolonged release melatonin formula is efficacious in treating age-related insomnia in individuals who also have decreased bodily concentrations of melatonin, it is hypothesized that melatonin will reduce the time taken to sleep and will improve sleep quality in ABI patients. The current study will implement a randomized, placebo-controlled crossover study with the aim of recruiting 80 participants. ABI patients who report sleep disturbance post injury will be eligible to participate. As this is a crossover design every participant will receive both the placebo and active melatonin treatments. If melatonin therapy is successful in reducing latency to sleep and improved sleep quality this could substantially improve the quality of life of individuals with ABI. As melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone relatively devoid of side-effects, its use to treat sleep disturbance could be implemented into clinical practice.