Complementary therapies are generally effective and safe in treating insomnia with acupuncture being the most frequently effective form, often yielding results superior to western medicine, sham/placebo, and no treatment.
The researchers conducted an extensive literature search using six different databases to gather systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the effectiveness and safety of complementary therapies for insomnia. Among the surveyed data, 30 systematic reviews/meta-analyses were chosen for the overview. An analysis using the PSQI was performed involving a significant number of randomized controlled trials and participants.
The results confirm that complementary therapies had a positive impact on the PSQI scores in insomnia patients. Most of the reviews and meta-analyses reported positive results, with acupuncture being the most frequently effective form, often yielding results superior to western medicine, sham/placebo, and no treatment. However, the study discusses the presence of some methodological and reporting quality deficiencies in the systematic reviews and meta-analyses due to a lack of protocol registration and exclusions in study lists.
