Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 9, 2025

Author Spotlight: Overcoming Challenges in Drosophila Sleep Measurement Using DAM System
Published on: October 20, 2023
High-dose Vitamin D Supplementation and Improvement in Cognitive Abilities, Insomnia, and Daytime Sleepiness in
Afsane Bahrami1, Fariborz Rezaeitalab2, Seyed Kazem Farahmand3
1Cellular and Molecular Research Center, School of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Bijand, Iran.
Introduction:
Vitamin D may affect the modulation of signaling pathways in the central nervous system. We aimed to evaluate the effect of high-dose vitamin D supplementation on neuropsychological functions in female adolescents.
Methods:
We studied the effects of 9 weeks of vitamin D supplementation (50000 IU vitamin D3 [cholecalciferol]/week) on cognitive abilities and sleep disorders in 940 adolescent girls.
Results:
Oral vitamin D supplementation improved cognitive abilities, including memory, inhibitory control, selective attention, decision making, planning, sustained attention, and cognitive flexibility in healthy adolescent girls (P<0.001). The prevalence of subjects with insomnia after intervention fell from 15.0% to 11.3%. Similar results were also found for the prevalence of sleepiness (15.6% reduced to 14.7%), or cases with both insomnia and sleepiness (8.0% reduced to 6.1%; P<0.05).
Conclusion:
High dose of vitamin D can improve cognitive abilities and alleviate insomnia and daytime sleepiness in adolescent girls. Further investigations are required on different population groups (age and gender) to determine the sustainability of these effects. The value of vitamin D therapy in other neurological disorders would also be of research interest.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Role of Skin in Vitamin D Synthesis
The solar UV B rays (290-315 nm) are absorbed by the skin, and 7-dehydrocholesterol (provitamin D3) photolyzes it to previtamin D3, which undergoes a rapid transformation to vitamin...
Insufficient Sleep and Sleep Deprivation
Sleep deprivation is a more severe form of sleep loss...
Substance Use Disorders Affecting Sleep
Understanding the concepts of physical dependence,...
Management of Insomnia
Sedatives and Hypnotics Drugs: Miscellaneous Agents
Melatonin congeners like ramelteon (Rozerem) and tasimelteon (Hetlioz) selectively bind to melatonin receptors (MT1 and MT2) and thus mimic the actions of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles. Tasimelteon is primarily used for non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder, common in blind patients. They are also used to treat conditions like insomnia...
Insomnia
Multiple factors contribute...

