Just when one thinks that there is just one too many sleep aids available in the market, think again. A new sleep aid that can promote dreaming has been formulated by drug researchers and pharmacologists. The said is also said to be effective in improving one’s memory. This medication specifically targets the orexin system, which is also associated with the urges connected with feeding and addiction. Orexin is a type of hormone that was discovered in 1998 and is known to control or induce a number of physiological reactions and conditions such as narcolepsy, a sleeping disorder where people can fall asleep several times a day and experience paralyzing musculo-skeletal contractions.
A Swiss drug company named Actelion has also unveiled a new candidate drug known as orexin-RA-1 that can block the orexin system. Laboratory rats slept soundly and performed better in maze tests the following day than rats given with only conventional sleep aids, suggesting that the drug improves memory capacity. Measurements of muscle tone and brain activity revealed an increase in the dream phase of sleep. According to Actelion CEO Jean Paul Clozel, the dream phase is when memory is...