A Randomized Placebo Controlled Trial of an Amino Acid Preparation on Timing and Quality of Sleep

William Shell, MD, Debbie Bullias, B.S, Elizabeth Charuvastra, RN, Larry May, MD and David Silver, MD

Introduction

The management of sleep disorders continues to be a treatment challenge because hypnotic drugs have therapeutic limitations and dose related side effects. Hypnotic drugs may abolish stage IV sleep, reduce REM sleep, contribute to morning grogginess, or induce residual cognitive dysfunction. Tolerance and long-term dependency also occur. Medications such as tricyclic antidepressants and antiepileptics produce less dependency but have other side effects such as dry mouth and dizziness. The inherent difficulties with these drugs are magnified by the large number of people who suffer from sleep disorders. Even a small incidence of side effects is significant when the population at risk is large.

Read complete article »