Sleep patches: Doctor breaks down whether wellness trend has any benefits

A new wellness trend is sweeping social media in the form of small patches with big promises of aiding sleep.

Chances are, avid TikTokers will be familiar with the phenomenon with many patching up in the hopes of achieving a peaceful sleep. For the blissfully unaware, the patches closely resemble stickers that are placed directly on the skin and deliver vitamins, minerals or hormones through skin absorption rather than orally in pill form.

Sleep patches, from various brands, have been shared across TikTok a staggering 38 million times with people raving about the supposed results. A number of these have been shared by influencers involved in gifted partnerships.

Equally, many more non-#gifted users have shared their thoughts online. A woman based in the US suggested: "As someone not sponsored or not getting commission, the sleep patches actually work on me."

A separate user across the pond claimed: "I am so impressed at how well this worked. If you have insomnia I really really REALLY encourage you to try these out. I am sold."

The patches have proven popular across the US and Australia, mostly for containing melatonin. Melatonin is a "hormone that occurs naturally in your body. At night, your levels of melatonin rise, before returning to normal during the day. This helps to control how and when you sleep."

But, there's one significant detail that people in the UK may not be aware of, creating confusion as to why they're not available to buy in their region.

In the UK, melatonin is a prescription-only medicine and not authorised for sale. Popular brands of melatonin patches have restricted sales in the UK for this very reason.

Dr Richard Prempeh, owner of SleepyClub, told Indy100 that this new method of taking supplements and vitamins is "not regulated by the medicines authority or health service."

"Any claims made regarding patches and their delivery are unverified with no clinical evidence that actually proves the effectiveness in any form," he said.

While there are other melatonin-free alternatives available, Dr Prempeh suggested that oral supplements have historically taken the crown for effectiveness. He cited a 2019 study which compared two sets of participants testing patches versus pills for vitamin D deficiency.

"At the end of the trial, participants who were wearing the patch still had significant vitamin D deficiency," Dr Prempeh stated. "Whereas, people who were taking the tablet form had their deficiency solved. Oral ingestion was far, far more effective."

Patches don't generally absorb as well as oral ingestion, according to Dr Prempeh. Not to mention, they only have the capacity for a low concentration of the ingredient.

To naturally achieve a good night's sleep, Dr Prempeh offered three key pieces of advice:

Switching off before bed in a dimmed room

Dr Prempeh suggested that one of the easiest methods with the greatest impact is to switch off an hour before bed. This can be done with lights off or in a dimmed room.

Many people tend to hit the sack immediately after a stressful day at work or doomscrolling without taking time to wind down and prepare the body for sleep.

During this time, people are encouraged to do a relaxing activity of choice, whether that be listening to a podcast, reading a book or a favourite series.

"On the contrary, if you try and dive straight into your sleep without a relaxation period, it's going to be really hard because you're going from lights on straight to sleep and haven't had time for melatonin to naturally produce," he said.

Implementing a sleep routine

"Try and keep your sleep time and wake-up time the same," Dr Prempeh advised. "This will allow your circadian rhythm to sync up and stabilise."

For context, a circadian rhythm is a "natural drive that dictates when you go to sleep or when you go to bed."

Once the body is in a routine, it will allow people to start waking up naturally and feeling more refreshed in the morning.

Sustainable sleep supplements

When people have exhausted all methods for sleep disturbances, they often resort to sleeping tablets.

Dr Prempeh encouraged people to try a "sustainable, gentle and easier" route with sleep supplements such as Sleepys.

They contain magnesium glycinate, pyridoxal-5-phosphate, Montmorency tart cherry and added vitamins and minerals which are "designed to support your body to help you sleep rather than sedate your body to sleep which is what sleeping pills do."

He added: "Sleep supplements, however, the idea is that you're taking in vitamins and minerals that you would need to take in any way: magnesium, vitamin E, vitamin B6. These are things that support the body to have a deeper sleep and allow you to relax."

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