Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep MedicineJan 6, 2011

Taking Ramelteon before a short evening nap may reduce mental performance for up to 12 hours after waking

Circadian Biology Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗

Updated Mar 20, 2026

Abstract

Ramelteon did not significantly improve nap efficiency but was associated with significant impairments in neurobehavioral performance for up to 12 hours after administration.

Ramelteon was tested in a controlled study with 10 healthy volunteers aged 19-31 years.
No significant improvement in sleep efficiency was observed during naps taken prior to a night shift.
Participants showed significantly worse neurobehavioral performance immediately after napping and during a simulated night shift after taking ramelteon.
The combination of high sleep pressure and low circadian performance may increase susceptibility to the negative effects of hypnotics.
Findings suggest that ramelteon may not be suitable for use before evening naps due to potential residual impairments.

Simplified

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Planned naps can improve performance when the habitual or nocturnal sleep schedule is disrupted. It may be difficult, however, to achieve sleep during a nap, particularly during the circadian peak in alertness in the early evening. Prior studies with the melatonin agonist, ramelteon, reported that this hypnotic does not impair neurobehavioral performance. We tested whether ramelteon could improve nap efficiency in the early evening and subsequent performance during a simulated 8-h night shift.

METHODS: 10 healthy volunteers aged 19-31 years participated in an inpatient randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study. Ramelteon 8 mg or placebo was administered 30 min prior to a 2-h nap opportunity commencing 13 h after each individual's habitual morning wake time.

RESULTS: Ramelteon did not significantly affect sleep efficiency during the nap prior to the night shift. Following the nap, ramelteon was associated with significantly worse neurobehavioral performance on assessments immediately following the nap and during the simulated night shift.

CONCLUSIONS: Although ramelteon did not significantly affect sleep during the nap, it was associated with significant impairments in neurobehavioral performance for up to 12 h after administration. High homeostatic sleep pressure combined with the circadian performance nadir may increase the vulnerability to hypnotic-induced neurobehavioral impairments. The findings do not support the use of ramelteon prior to an evening prophylactic nap, as there may be residual effects that last for several hours. Furthermore, this study highlights the pitfalls of applying side-effect profiles obtained in one context to another.

Taking Ramelteon before a short evening nap may reduce mental performance for up to 12 hours after waking

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