Non-randomised trial, 2008
Does changing sleep timing help mood in women with PMDD?
Wake therapy improved mood in women with PMDD, but changing how early or late they slept did not work by reducing the morning melatonin hormone as researchers expected.
What they did
Researchers measured melatonin hormone levels every 30 minutes in 19 women with PMDD and 18 control women during different phases of their menstrual cycle. They tested two sleep schedules during the symptomatic phase: very early wake (sleep 3am-7am) versus late wake (sleep 9pm-1am).
What they found
Late wake therapy (sleeping 9pm-1am) changed the melatonin hormone pattern while early wake therapy (sleeping 3am-7am) did not. Both types improved mood equally. Later morning melatonin in women with PMDD was linked to worse mood, and longer melatonin duration predicted better mood improvement after late wake therapy.
What it means for you
Wake therapy helps PMDD mood, but the benefit does not come from reducing morning melatonin as researchers thought. The mood improvement must work through a different pathway. The study was small, measured only two cycle phases, and did not have a true placebo control, so the findings are preliminary.
19
Women with PMDD studied
18
Control women studied
every 30 min
Melatonin measurement frequency
About the study
- Original title
- Late, but not early, wake therapy reduces morning plasma melatonin: relationship to mood in Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder
- Authors
- Parry BL, Meliska CJ, Martínez LF et al.
- Journal
- Psychiatry research
- Year
- 2008
- Study design
- Non-randomised trial
- What was tested
- Early wake therapy (sleep 3am-7am) vs late wake therapy (sleep 9pm-1am)
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2007.11.017
Topics
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