Lithium May Support Better Sleep
According to research, lithium has been shown to improve sleep quality and help stabilize circadian rhythms. Because lithium is primarily prescribed as a treatment for bipolar disorder, most scientific studies on its effects have been conducted with participants who have this diagnosis.
How Do People With Bipolar Disorder Sleep?
Bipolar disorder involves problems with haphazard sleeping patterns.
Reddit user claider writes, “These days I routinely wake up around 2, 3, 4 am and can’t get back to sleep. I’m so exhausted by the time the clock rolls around that I’ve missed a good amount of work as a result.”
Another user, MorganMassacre95, says, “I go from sleeping 3 hours a night to sleeping like 16 hours a day. Last week I wasn't falling asleep until 7 am. This week I've been going to bed at a normal time but still end up sleeping all afternoon and evening.”
What Science Says
A placebo-controlled study with a small sample size found that people on lithium were less active during the day and started their day a couple of hours earlier. The researchers believe lithium may stabilize daily biological rhythms.
A much bigger observational study in France showed that people on lithium had better quality of sleep, tended to sleep longer, and used less sleeping medications. The study also showed that the effect was stronger in women.
The most recent study used actigraphy, which involves wearing a special wristwatch to track sleep and activity. Findings suggest that lithium had an association with more stable and healthier daily activity patterns compared to other drugs.
What Does It Mean Though?
For people with bipolar disorder, lithium showed some efficacy in helping them sleep better and be active during the day.
As lithium is a medication with side effects that require blood tests for control, it is not prescribed to people without mood disorders. So we don’t have data on how lithium affects sleep and circadian rhythms of healthy folks.
However, lithium supplements are available over the counter, so people sometimes try them to see if their sleep improves.