Sleep is vital for everyone. For cancer patients, insomnia is often ignored, but it can make the overall condition worse. This study explored the ability of melatonin and L-theanine to improve sleep in cancer patients suffering from insomnia.
120 people between the ages of 18 and 55 who had cancer and were struggling with insomnia were given either a placebo, 3 mg of melatonin or 200 mg of L-theanine 2 hours before bed for 2 weeks.
Melatonin is a well known natural sleep aid. It is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland during darkness that regulates the sleep-wake cycle and circadian rhythm. It effectively induces and maintains sleep. L-theanine is less well known, but no less exciting. It is an amino acid found almost uniquely in green tea. L-theanine improves calm by increasing alpha brain waves, which leads to relaxation and better focus, and deceasing beta brain waves, which reduces nervousness, hyperactivity and unfocussed thoughts. L-theanine will not put you to sleep, but it will improve your sleep.
The L-theanine worked better than the placebo, and the melatonin worked even better than the L-theanine.
Interestingly, this is the second recent study to demonstrate the power of melatonin in sick or hospitalized people. A recent comparison study with the drug trazadone found melatonin to be at least as good for hospitalized patients with insomnia (Hosp Pharm. 2023 Apr;58(2):165–170).
This new study adds to the evidence that melatonin and L-theanine are helpful supplements for insomnia and suggests that L-theanine is also beneficial for cancer patients with insomnia and that melatonin is even better still.
Indian J Palliat Care. 2024 Apr-Jun;30(2):176–181.