Research suggests that melatonin, traditionally treasured as a homeopathic sleep aid, may be useful for lowering high blood pressure.

A study published in 2004 tested the effects of one dose as well as daily doses of melatonin on a group of 16 untreated men with hypertension. While no there was no measureable effect from a single dose, the men who took 2.5mg of oral melatonin one hour before sleep for three weeks recognized a 6 point drop in systolic blood pressure and 4 in diastolic. The drop only occurred while they were sleeping.

SOURCES:
Frank A.J.L. Scheer; Gert A. Van Montfrans; Eus J.W. van Someren; Gideon Mairuhu; Ruud M. Buijs (2004) “Daily Nighttime Melatonin Reduces Blood Pressure in Male Patients With Essential Hypertension “. Hypertension. 2004;43:192 Retrieved October 7, 2008 from http://hyper.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/43/2/192?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=1&title=Daily+Nighttime+Melatonin+Reduces+&andorexacttitle=and&andorexacttitleabs=and&andorexactfulltext=and&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=HWCIT

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