[Blindtlk] ernestly seeking advice about sleep irregularities

Tue May 25 17:27:19 UTC 2010

Personal thoughts about comments made.  I think all comments made about this 
subject are valid.  Vigorous exercise is a powerful stimulant of regulating 
normal circadian rhythm.  And most certainly underlying comorbid diseases 
need to be excluded.

During my tenure at a medical teaching university I had the privelige of 
serving for several years on the IRB (Institutional Review Board).  Also 
called the CPHS (Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects), this 
committee has the responsibility of protecting the rights and welfare of 
human subjects involved in clinical research.  Since the unethical studies 
of syphilis at Tuskegee, Alabama  among primarily poor, black Alabamians 
begun in the 1930's, the Federal government passed the National Research Act 
which requires that research conducted on human subjects be scrutinized by a 
committee of scientists, medical, and lay individuals to ensure such 
protection of subject rights.  So it is advisable to ask if a research has 
been signed off by a licensed IRB before participating.

There is a good review article about melatonin on wikipedia.  Melatonin is a 
powerful regulator of normal circadian rhythm.  It is primarily produced by 
the pineal gland in response to signals received from retinal 
photoreceptors.  The lack of light prompts these cells to  send such 
messages to this gland, causing production of melatonin.   But melatonin is 
found in other tissues of the body, including skin and bone marrow.  The 
highest level of melatonin appears to be during the middle of the night. 
Melatonin as I stated, has a relatively short half life.  After five half 
lives, assuming that no additional melatonin is introduced in the body, 
97.5% of a melatonin supplement is eliminated by metabolism within three to 
five hours.  I was unable to find any studies done among blind individuals 
with melatonin to aid in insomnia.  As Peter and Diane pointed out, 
exclusion criteria in such a study would need to be patients with diagnostic 
comorbid diseases that might cause such insomnia.  In my opinion, such 
research would be helpful.  Some authors have suggested that among normal 
individuals a lesser dosage (lower than the 3mg dosage most commonly used) 
may be sufficient as an aid in insomnia.  Higher dosages may in fact cause 
headaches and other side effects.

There are other factors to consider regarding insomnia before giving up.  As 
has been stated, exercise, alcohol and caffeine consumption,timing of meals, 
stress, medications taken, weight control as Gary pointed out, and other 
factors should be reviewed. Disclaimer...I was a pharmacologist and not a 
sleep disorder specialist.  Conselt such a specialist if other measures have 
been attempted with no success.  Ultimately an overnight stay in a sleep lab 
may be necessary to measure sleep patterns.

As I mentioned, there is a good wikipedia review article on the net.

Michael   ----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gary Wunder" <gwunder at earthlink.net>
To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2010 8:00 PM
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] ernestly seeking advice about sleep irregularities

> I'd love to see those links.
>
> Gary
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Michael" <bonsai1b at bellsouth.net>
> To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, May 24, 2010 5:21 PM
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] ernestly seeking advice about sleep irregularities
>
>
>> Hi Robert
>> I lost my sight a couple of years ago and for a  time I woke up in the 
>> middle of the night wide awake.  This is clinically called nocturnal 
>> awakenings.  I am a retired pharmacist and knew that melatonin doesn't 
>> last long in the body. It only has a half life of thirty to forty 
>> minutes, meaning that the body gets rid of half  of what is in the blood 
>> during that time. So this prompted me to look for an extended release 
>> melatonin product that would last long enough for me to sleep soundly.  I 
>> found one on drugstore.com.  It did help too.  Before, I would take 
>> melatonin during the middle of the night only if I woke up and I can take 
>> the sustained release product now when I go to bed.  I do hope this helps 
>> and if you would like a bunch of scientific details about melatonin that 
>> might put some people to sleep let me know.
>>
>> Michael
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Robert J Smith" <rsmith247 at csc.com>
>> To: <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Monday, May 24, 2010 3:11 PM
>> Subject: [Blindtlk] ernestly seeking advice about sleep irregularities
>>
>>
>>> Hi all.  I am a person who is totally blind with prosthetic eyes.  You
>>> will see why I mention this right at the beginning later in this 
>>> message.
>>> I am ernestly seeking advice from other totally blind persons who 
>>> suffer,
>>> or have suffered from sleep irregularities.  I take Melatonin which 
>>> helps
>>> the problem somewhat but it could be better.  Without Melatonin, I would
>>> sleep for two maybe three hours per night, wake up, and stay awake the
>>> rest of the night.  With Melatonin, I sleep about five hours a night but
>>> still get sleepy sometimes during the day.  Any ideas as to how I can
>>> improve my alertness during the entire day?  Cafinated coffee doesn't do
>>> it.  I can sit and yawn and get drowsy while drinking it.  I take one
>>> Melatonin tablet at night.  Should I possibly take two?  Should I take
>>> something to keep me alert during the day instead of focusing on the
>>> night?  I am open to all suggestions!  Of course I know that nobody can
>>> prescribe anything on this list.  I have heard that blind persons who 
>>> have
>>> no light perception have been known to have sleep irregularity problems.
>>> This seems to follow with me because when I was a kid I had light
>>> perception.  I would sit in front of a lamp in my bedroom when doing my
>>> homework first to be just like my sighted younger brother when he did 
>>> his
>>> homework, second because I liked actually seeing something since I had
>>> both real eyes at that point.  When I was a kid, I did not have sleep 
>>> and
>>> alertness troubles.
>>>
>>> Thanks much in advance,
>>>
>>> Robert Smith
>>>
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>>
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