Successful Aging: A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives

by Daniel J. Levitin

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends the timed use of melatonin supplements to promote adaptation to new time zones or to help individuals having trouble sleeping for other reasons (such as age-related disturbances of the sleep-wake cycle). Melatonin taken in midafternoon (in conjunction with avoiding blue light) will advance the circadian clock, causing the body to think that nighttime has come early. The effect is somewhat mild, certainly not as powerful as a sleeping pill, but for many, this gentle nudging of the clocks is enough to promote sleep. As Johns Hopkins University sleep researcher Luis Buenaver says, “Your body produces melatonin naturally. It doesn’t make you sleep, but as melatonin levels rise in the evening it puts you into a state of quiet wakefulness that helps promote sleep.”