I have done only incidental reading on melatonin for insomnia and PD, but there seems to be a great deal of research published on it. Also, I would avoid acetomenophin (tylenol) because of the danger to your liver. In addition to aiding sleep, melatonin seems to offer additional benefits-

1: Endocrine. 2005 Jul;27(2):169-78.

Melatonin and Parkinson's disease.

Mayo JC, Sainz RM, Tan DX, Antolín I, Rodríguez C, Reiter RJ.

Departamento de Morfología y Biología Celular, School of Medicine, University of
Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder
after Alzheimer's disease. It is characterized by a progressive loss of dopamine
in the substantia nigra and striatum. However, over 70% of dopaminergic neuronal
death occurs before the first symptoms appear, which makes either early diagnosis
or effective treatments extremely difficult. Only symptomatic therapies have been
used, including levodopa (l-dopa), to restore dopamine content; however, the use
of l-dopa leads to some long-term pro-oxidant damage. In addition to a few
specific mutations, oxidative stress and generation of free radicals from both
mitochondrial impairment and dopamine metabolism are considered to play critical
roles in PD etiology. Thus, the use of antioxidants as an important co-treatment
with traditional therapies for PD has been suggested. Melatonin, or
N-acetyl-5-methoxy-tryptamine, an indole mainly produced in the pineal gland, has
been shown to have potent endogenous antioxidant actions. Because
neurodegenerative disorders are mainly caused by oxidative damage, melatonin has
been tested successfully in both in vivo and in vitro models of PD. The present
review provides an up-to-date account of the findings and mechanisms involved in
neuroprotection of melatonin in PD.


PMID: 16217130 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]