![]() ‘COVID-somnia’ was coined in the summer of 2020 to describe the impact the global pandemic was having on people’s sleep. Given the growing body data showing that insomnia is common in those recovering from COVID-19, Cheng suggested that it may be sleep that is impacting COVID-19 outcomes, rather than melatonin, the hormone that regulates this function. Instead, he and other scientists considered what was underlying the link between melatonin and COVID-19. However, Cheng highlighted that melatonin is a hormone with profound effects on the central nervous system and should not be taken lightly. Around this time, other researchers began producing similar results, further supporting the key role of melatonin in COVID-19.Īt the time when this research came out, some experts began recommending that people should immediately begin taking melatonin supplements, which are widely available over-the-counter in the US, to protect themselves in the event they are infected with COVID-19. He found that those taking melatonin were significantly less likely to die from COVID-19. With additional support, Cheng was motivated to continue his investigation and in a large-scale study, the results of which were published in December 2020, Cheng produced further evidence supporting the role of melatonin in the outcomes of COVID-19 cases. This function is vital in the progression of cases of COVID-19, melatonin is key for maintaining our self-protective responses and preventing them from going out of sync, which can influence the trajectory of the disease, causing symptoms to progress from mild to life-threatening. Quickly, Cheng and his team uncovered an interesting link, that melatonin, the hormone responsible for regulating sleep, may have the power to block the virus.Īfter publishing his research, scientists around the world began contacting Cheng, supporting his preliminary findings, and highlighting that while melatonin is famous for its role in sleep, it is also known to be important for calibrating the immune system. So when COVID-19 began spreading, Cheng instantly began exploring the structure of the COVID-19 virus to predict how it invades human cells with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). Image Credit: Tero Vesalainen/ Discovering a link between melatonin and COVID-19Īfter witnessing similar coronaviruses perpetuate through China and Saudi Arabia previously, Feixiong Cheng of the Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, understood the power of coronaviruses to transmit rapidly - ruining economies and threatening human health. Many people who have recovered from COVID-19 are reporting incidences of insomnia but sleep may also be the answer to preventing the symptoms of ‘long COVID’. By Sarah Moore Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc. ![]()
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