ArticleNpj biological timing and sleep2024
Melatonin's role in the timing of sleep onset is conserved in nocturnal mice.
Article in Npj biological timing and sleep, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Melatonin beyond chronobiology: integrating pharmacokinetics, dose-exposure forecasting, and clinical evidence.Molecular biology reports · 2026Review
- Melatonin receptor signaling in human pathologies: from molecular mechanisms to therapeutic targets.Function (Oxford, England) · 2026Review
- Hypnotic Effects ofNutrients · 2026Article
- DNA damage modulates sleep drive in basal cnidarians with divergent chronotypes.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Gender-specific function of melatonin receptor (MTRI) in gonads of red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Enhancing melatonin biosynthesis in crops through synthetic genetic circuits: A strategy for nutritional fortification in soybean and stress resistance in cotton.Plant biotechnology journal · 2025Article
- Neural activation in a septal area is related to intrinsic motivation for non-courtship singing in adult zebra finches.Scientific reports · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
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Abstract
Melatonin supplementation strengthens non-restorative sleep rhythms and its temporal alignment in both humans and night-active rodents. Of note, although the sleep cycle is reversed in day-active and night-active (nocturnal) mammals, both, produce melatonin at night under the control of the circadian clock. The effects of exogenous melatonin on sleep and sleepiness are relatively clear, but its endogenous role in sleep, particularly, in timing sleep onset (SO), remains poorly understood. We show in nocturnal mice that the increases in mid-nighttime sleep episodes, and the mid-nighttime decline in activity, are coupled to nighttime melatonin signaling. Furthermore, we show that endogenous melatonin modulates SO by reducing the threshold for wake-to-sleep transitioning. Such link between melatonin and SO timing may explain phenomena such as increased sleep propensity in circadian rhythm sleep disorders and chronic insomnia in patients with severely reduced nocturnal melatonin levels. Our findings demonstrate that melatonin's role in sleep is evolutionarily conserved, effectively challenging the argument that melatonin cannot play a major role in sleep regulation in nocturnal mammals, where the main activity phase coincides with high melatonin levels.
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