Common sleeping pill may stop your eyesight from deteriorating as you get older

MELATONIN could stop your eyesight from deteriorating as you age, scientists say.

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

But scientists say the supplements may also improve your chances of maintaining your eyesight as you get older, as it could lower your risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

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

It doesn’t cause total blindness, but it can make activities like reading, watching TV and recognising people’s faces more difficult.

Without treatment, the condition can get worse, making it a struggle to see anything in the middle of your vision.

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine assessed records of more than 200,000 people who either had no history of age-related eyesight decline or had developed the slow-progressing nonexudative AMD.

This also referred to as ‘dry’ AMD and is associated with slow vision loss over years or decades.

Fast progressing AMD is referred to as ‘wet’.

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

Those who had used the sleeping aid tending to have taken it at least four times, each at least three months apart.

Of the 121,523 patients aged 50 or older with no history of AMD, regular melatonin use was linked to a 58 per cent lower risk of developing the condition.

Melatonin also seemed to have a positive effect on those with dry AMD.

In the 66,253 patients with early eyesight degeneration, the sleeping pill was linked to a 56 per cent lower risk of the condition progressing.

Despite these promising results, researchers noted that their study – published in JAMA Opthalmology – did have some limitations.

Firstly, the study was observational, meaning it couldn’t prove that melatonin could cut 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, having high blood pressure and being overweight.

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

Researchers say other lifestyle factors could have influenced their results so more work should 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 your body and is involved in sleep.

At night, your levels of melatonin rise to help you drift off, before returning to normal during the day.

This helps control when and how long you sleep for.

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