New sleep drug brings hope for shift workers
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A study into sleep disorders shows a new drug can help people affected by jet lag or shift work.
The Monash University research says the drug tasimelteon can shift the rhythm of melatonin levels in the body.
Melatonin is a marker of the internal biological clock and helps regulate circadian rhythms.
Sleep disorder expert Dr Shantha Rajaratnam says the drug could help patients fall asleep even when they are out of their normal time zone.
"What we found was that the study medication was able to improve the amount of time it took for the volunteers to fall asleep and also the amount of sleep they actually got during the time that they were in bed," he said.
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