Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26669255›Full record

Trial reportJournal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.)2016

Effects of Ayurvedic Oil-Dripping Treatment with Sesame Oil vs. with Warm Water on Sleep: A Randomized Single-Blinded Crossover Pilot Study.

Akiko Tokinobu, Takashi Yorifuji, Toshihide Tsuda, Hiroyuki Doi

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 18% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Ayurveda Treatments for Insomnia: A Narrative Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026
    Review
  2. Review
  3. Review
  4. Impact force measurement in Shirodhara.Journal of Ayurveda and integrative medicine
    Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Akiko Tokinobu1 Department of Epidemiology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine , Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kita-ku, Okayama, Japan .
Takashi Yorifuji2 Department of Human Ecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science , Kita-ku, Okayama, Japan .
Toshihide Tsuda2 Department of Human Ecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science , Kita-ku, Okayama, Japan .
Hiroyuki Doi1 Department of Epidemiology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine , Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kita-ku, Okayama, Japan .
Okayama University of Science · JPOkayama University · JP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesAyurvedic oil-dripping treatment (Shirodhara) is often used for treating sleep problems. However, few properly designed studies have been conducted, and the quantitative effect of Shirodhara is unclear. This study sought to quantitatively evaluate the effect of sesame oil Shirodhara (SOS) against warm water Shirodhara (WWS) on improving sleep quality and quality of life (QOL) among persons reporting sleep problems.

methodsThis randomized, single-blinded, crossover study recruited 20 participants. Each participant received seven 30-minute sessions within 2 weeks with either liquid. The washout period was at least 2 months. The Shirodhara procedure was conducted by a robotic oil-drip system. The outcomes were assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) for sleep quality, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) for daytime sleepiness, World Health Organization Quality of Life 26 (WHO-QOL26) for QOL, and a sleep monitor instrument for objective sleep measures. Changes between baseline and follow-up periods were compared between the two types of Shirodhara. Analysis was performed with generalized estimating equations.

resultsOf 20 participants, 15 completed the study. SOS improved sleep quality, as measured by PSQI. The SOS score was 1.83 points lower (95% confidence interval [CI], -3.37 to -0.30) at 2-week follow-up and 1.73 points lower (95% CI, -3.84 to 0.38) than WWS at 6-week follow-up. Although marginally significant, SOS also improved QOL by 0.22 points at 2-week follow-up and 0.19 points at 6-week follow-up compared with WWS. After SOS, no beneficial effects were observed on daytime sleepiness or objective sleep measures.

conclusionsThis pilot study demonstrated that SOS may be a safe potential treatment to improve sleep quality and QOL in persons with sleep problems.

Indexed as

Medicine, AyurvedicAdultFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPilot ProjectsSesame OilSleepSesame Oil

Identifiers

PMID26669255
PMCPMC4739344
OpenAlexW2218561092

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.