Effects of lemborexant vs placebo on total daytime sleep in shift workers: a randomized controlled trial

Sleep difficulties are common among shift workers, likely due to a misalignment of one's sleep preference and endogenous circadian rhythm. Treatments to improve daytime sleep in shift workers have been limited; however, the development of dual orexin receptor antagonists (DORAs) that block the hypocretin/orexin receptors that mediate wakefulness promoted by the biological clock holds promise. The present small randomized controlled trial tested the efficacy of the DORA, lemborexant, in improving daytime sleep in night shift workers compared with placebo.

This double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial tested the effects of lemborexant on daytime sleep duration in a sample of night shift workers. Participants (n = 29; mean age = 37.2 years; 28 female) underwent a 2-week baseline period followed by randomization and a 1-week titration period where participants received either 5 mg of lemborexant or placebo. This was followed by a 2-week period at either 5 mg (n = 8) or 10 mg (n = 7) lemborexant or placebo. Sleep diaries and wrist actigraphy were collected to quantify daytime sleep duration, sleep efficiency, and subjective sleep quality.