Sleep is a very important process in the human body, as it helps the body regenerate and leaves a person fresh and ready to start off on another day. Sleep deprivation, insomnia and even jet lag have always constituted a real problem for doctors who could only prescribe traditional sleeping pills, which only help treat the immediate problem, by making the patient fall asleep.

Melbourne scientists have announced that they are working on a drug that helps with these problems and can also treat the underlying problem. Melbourne researchers have made a synthetic version of the sleep hormone melatonin that appears to treat both sleepiness and the underlying cause of the sleep problem.

The drug is currently being tested and it needs to pass some very rigorous trials before being declared safe for the general public. The drug is said to be able to help who suffer from severe jet lag, shift workers, working either very early in the morning or very late at night, or those suffering from insomnia. The drug will certainly prove very useful as it promises a treatment of the underlying condition of sleep disorders and not just an immediate solution.

The synthetic hormone has the ability to make the brain think that the time in reality is closer to its biological clock, making the drug a big breakthrough in this domain. The number of people suffering from sleep disorders has started to rise, given the different financial problems and generally the intense rhythm the contemporary world moves in.