New drug for jet lag

A new cure for jet lag could be on the market in the next few years after trials show a pill can reset the body's natural sleep rhythms.

Tasimelteon works by shifting the natural ebb and flow of the body's sleep hormone melatonin. In trials, published in The Lancet, the drug helped troubled sleepers nod off quicker and stay asleep for longer.

In trials on 450 people kept awake for five hours longer than normal to replicate crossing into a different time zone, those who took the drug enjoyed between 30 minutes and nearly two hours more sleep than volunteers who received a dummy pill.

Natural melatonin - the darkness hormone which peaks at night - is a popular treatment for patients with body clock-related sleep disorders.
But the researchers say the potency, purity, and safety of melatonin pills is unregulated. Also, there are mixed results about whether they work in shift-workers and people with jet lag.