A new experimental drug that mimics the effects of the hormone melatonin could be very helpful for jet-lagged travellers, shift workers, tourists and airline crew, a new study has shown. The drug helps the body produce more of the sleep hormone melatonine that regulates sleep activity.

The study conducted by a team of researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston involved 450 people who were subjected to simulate jet lag in a sleep laboratory.

The participants slept in labs and were tested using devices known as polysomnographs, which measure sleep activity. Those who received the magical pill, an insomnia drug developed by Maryland-based Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc., fell asleep faster, had better sleep and woke up faster, the researchers noted. The drug did not cause any more side-effects than a placebo pill and people who took it performed normally the next day.

“Most of these people probably experience chronic sleep restriction because they are unable to initiate and maintain sleep when they attempt to sleep in the early or late evening hours. Tasimelteon might alleviate this problem by advancing the sleep-wake cycle, by providing a direct sleep-promoting effect, or both,” the researchers reported.

Previous studies have shown that people given tasimelteon, also known as VEC-162, spent 80 percent to 90 percent of their time asleep, compared to 70 percent of those who received a placebo.

The researchers suggested that around 70 million cases of jet lag occurred in 2007, based on the number of international airplane passengers and the published prevalence of jet lag.