The effects of a sleep/recovery supplement: 'Night Time Recharge' on sleep parameters in young adults.

BACKGROUND: Concentrated cherry juice reportedly contains melatonin which, in turn, has been highlighted as an important regulator in initiating sleep. AIM: The present investigation aims to clarify whether Night Time Recharge (NTR), a marketed sleep aid containing cherry extract, improves key sleep parameters in young, active adults with mildly poor sleep. METHODS: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over study design was employed. Twenty participants (nine female) consumed either NTR or a placebo for seven days. Accelerometers were used to assess sleep quality and physical activity levels. Urinary levels of 6-sulphatoxymelatonin (6-SMT), a marker of melatonin synthesis, was assessed via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: 6-SMT levels increased following NTR treatment (28.95 ng/ml) compared with placebo (4.0 ng/ml) (p < 0.001). There was also a significant difference (p = 0.047) in dietary tryptophan consumption during the NTR treatment (1236 mg) versus placebo (1149 mg). No trace of melatonin was detected from our analysis of the supplement. NTR had no significant effect on any sleep parameters with the exception of sleep latency (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: As chemical analysis of NTR by liquid-chromatography mass-spectrometry identified no detectable melatonin, the tryptophan content of the supplement is a likely reason for improvement in sleep latency. These results are in contrast to previous studies which have found a positive effect on sleep following cherry supplementation. Future work should focus on sleep latency and investigating whether cherry juice is effective in participants with problems in initiating sleep

Attitudes of the autism community to early autism research

Investigation into the earliest signs of autism in infants has become a significant sub-field of autism research. This work invokes specific ethical concerns such as: use of ‘at-risk’ language; communicating study findings to parents; and the future perspective of enrolled infants when they reach adulthood. The current study aimed to ground this research field in an understanding of the perspectives of members of the autism community. Following focus groups to identify topics, an online survey was distributed to autistic adults, parents of children with autism, and practitioners in health and education settings across eleven European countries. Survey respondents (n=2317) were positively disposed towards early autism research and there was significant overlap in their priorities for the field, and preferred language to describe infant research participants. However there were also differences including overall less favourable endorsement of early autism research by autistic adults relative to other groups and a dislike of the phrase ‘at-risk’ to describe infant participants, in all groups except healthcare practitioners. The findings overall indicate that the autism community in Europe is supportive of early autism research. Researchers should endeavour to maintain this by continuing to take community perspectives into account