Recent clinical trials have revealed that MDMA-assisted psychotherapy could aid better sleep for patients suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD patients often experience disrupted sleep patterns due to frequent trauma related alertness, particularly worsening with treatment-resistant patients.
Randomised double-blind trials were conducted and patients were administered various doses of MDMA. It was found that patients taking overall higher doses of MDMA had significantly improved sleep than those administered lower amounts. This is due to the fact that MDMA increases several neurotransmitters in the brain, including serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine – the essential transmitters for sleep and mood. MDMA intake releases further serotonin, thus allowing for a better quality of sleep and relieving symptoms for patients.
Although the study showed that over half of the patients experienced a better quality of sleep and relief of symptoms, this was only achieved by long term use of the drug. Studies on short term usage have previously shown that MDMA leads to a worsening of sleep quality and even insomnia. However, this study has shown that there is a lot of potential for treatment-resistant patients to have a better quality of life and perhaps with further clinical trials of a larger and more diverse population could lead to the drug being used permanently.
