A randomised-controlled trial of the effects of a traditional herbal supplement on sleep onset insomnia.

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Plant Preparations in this randomized controlled trial publication.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 25 volunteers were involved.

PubMed indexes the participants as adults and middle-aged adults, both men and women.

A total of 25 healthy volunteers (20-65 years of age) suffering from sleep onset insomnia were recruited from the general population.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover.

Because people in this Plant Preparations study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

As a double-blind Plant Preparations study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with Plant Preparations could be set against what happens without it.

In the crossover set-up each of the volunteers took both Plant Preparations and the comparison in turn, acting as their own control.

A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over study.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Medicine, Ayurvedic, Phytotherapy, Plant Preparations and Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Plant Preparations in 25 volunteers.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 3 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2003 (Complementary therapies in medicine), a journal based in Scotland.

More context: all human trials.