Common sleeping pills can stop your vision from deteriorating as you age

MELATONIN may stop your vision from deteriorating as you age, scientists say.

The tablets are commonly prescribed to help with sleep problems, particularly insomnia.

But scientists say supplements can also improve your chances of maintaining your vision as you age, as they may lower your risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

AMD is a common condition that causes blurring or distortion in the central part of vision, usually affecting people in their 50s and 60s.

It does not cause total blindness, but it can make activities such as reading, watching TV and recognizing people’s faces difficult.

Without treatment, the condition can worsen, making it difficult to see anything in the middle of your vision.

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine evaluated records from more than 200,000 people who had no history of age-related vision decline or who developed slowly progressing nonexudative AMD.

This is also known as “dry” AMD and is associated with slow vision loss over years or decades.

Rapidly progressing AMD is called “wet.”

The research team looked at whether people had taken melatonin at any point between November 14, 2008 and November 14, 2023.

Those who have used the sleep aid tend to have taken it at least four times, each at least three months apart.

Of 121,523 patients aged 50 and over with no history of AMD, regular melatonin use was associated with a 58% lower risk of developing the disease.

Melatonin also appeared to have a positive effect on people with dry AMD.

In the 66,253 patients with early vision degeneration, the sleeping pill was associated with a 56% lower risk of disease progression.

Despite these promising results, the researchers noted that their study – published in JAMA Ophthalmology – had some limitations.

Firstly, the study was observational, meaning it could not prove that melatonin could reduce the risk of age-related vision loss, only showing a link between the two.

AMD has also been linked to several lifestyle factors, including diet and smoking, high blood pressure, and being overweight.

People taking melatonin may also have been better at maintaining their health, which would reduce the risks of age-related vision loss.

The researchers say other lifestyle factors may have influenced their results, so more work needs to be done to confirm the link between melatonin and a lower risk of AMD.

What is melatonin?

Melatonin is a hormone that occurs naturally in the body and is involved in sleep.

At night, your melatonin levels rise to help you fall asleep, before returning to normal during the day.

This helps you control when and how long you sleep.

If you struggle with sleep problems such as insomnia, you may be able to take a synthetic form of the hormone for a brief period. periods of time to help you fall asleep and make it less likely that you will wake up at night.