EXCLUSIVE: Finally a melatonin alternative? Algae pills reduce the time it takes to fall asleep and work within weeks
- The pills are made from a type of seaweed that contains a nutrient called carotenoids
- These have an anti-inflammatory effect on nerve cells that send stress to the brain
- The strain was originally discovered in Swiss lakes but is now cultivated in Japan
An algae pill may reduce the time it takes you to fall asleep, researchers say.
Japanese biotech company Algal Bio says its dietary supplement – which contains a type of algae found in lakes in Switzerland – has the desired effect in just four weeks.
Nutrients called carotenoids in the chlorella plant have anti-inflammatory and anti-stress effects that help people drift off.
The product could be an alternative to melatonin, which can make people sleepy during the day and has recently been linked to accidental poisoning in children.
Users need to take six capsules of the seaweed supplement Moneru daily to feel its sleep-promoting benefits
The developers tested the supplements on 25 people who had completed the Athens Insomnia Scale before and after taking the pills for a month.
The scale measures eight factors related to sleep, including the ability to fall asleep, general well-being and next-day fatigue.
Each factor is given a score between zero and three. When asked how quickly they fell asleep, the choices were zero – no problem, one – slightly delayed, two – significantly delayed, and three – very delayed or not falling asleep at all.
Participants took six capsules daily for four weeks.
At the start of the study, the group rated their difficulty falling asleep with an overall average of three.
By the end of the month it had dropped to one, meaning they had a “slight delay” in falling asleep.
The in-house research found that the supplement also improved users’ sleep quality and mood during the day.
The algae were discovered in Lake Lucerne in central Switzerland, but Algal Bio is now growing them in Japan.
The company is working with the University of Tokyo to find out exactly why the product works, but one mechanism they’ve identified is a nutrient in the algae called carotenoids.
They have an anti-inflammatory effect on neurons, the nerve cells that transmit stress to your brain, effectively stopping you from feeling stressed and making it easier to fall asleep.
The product just launched in Japan this month, and Algal Bio CEO Amane Kimura is hoping it will be available in the US by the end of the year.