ArticleEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2019
Effectiveness of Laser Acupuncture in Alleviating Chronic Insomnia: A Single-Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial.
Article in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Photobiomodulation and sleep quality: systematic review and meta-analysis.Lasers in medical science · 2026Pooled it
- Photobiomodulation improves depression symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Sex differences in brain functional connectivity changes to different energy densities of laser acupuncture at PC6 (Neiguan): a pilot resting-state fMRI study.Lasers in medical science · 2026Trial
- The effect of photobiomodulation therapy on fatigue and behavioural status in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis.Lasers in medical science · 2026Trial
- Laser acupuncture improves post-dialysis fatigue and sleep quality independent of time-varying dialysis and depression symptoms: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2025Trial
- The Effectiveness of Low-Level LED Light Therapy for Sleep Problems, Psychological Symptoms, and Heart Rate Variability in Shift-Work Nurses: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of nursing management · 2025Trial
- Efficacy of Zhumian Tang formula granules combined with eszopiclone for the treatment of poor sleep quality: a multi-center, randomized controlled, superiority trial.Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan · 2024Trial
- Wearable low-level laser therapy (laser acupuncture) versus manual acupuncture for chronic insomnia: protocol for a randomized, assessor-blinded, superiority trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- From Needles to Photons: Clinical Efficacy, Safety, and Mechanistic Insights of Laser Acupuncture in Insomnia Management.Nature and science of sleep · 2025Review
- Efficacy and safety of laser acupuncture for treating insomnia in major depressive disorder: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Effects of Intravascular Photobiomodulation on Insomnia, Muscle Soreness, and Biochemistry Profiles: An Eight-Year Retrospective Cohort.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Article
- A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocol to Establish How Common Clinical Acupoint Stimulation-Related Therapies Should Be Used for Managing Insomnia.Journal of pain research · 2023Article
- The effects of laser acupuncture dosage at PC6 (Neiguan) on brain reactivity: a pilot resting-state fMRI study.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2023Article
- The Dosage Effect of Laser Acupuncture at PC6 (Neiguan) on Heart Rate Variability: A Pilot Study.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Article
- Positive Effects of Laser Acupuncture in Methamphetamine Users Undergoing Group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Pilot Study.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
STUDY
objectivesThis study investigates the therapeutic effect of Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) acupuncture for chronic insomnia.
methodsThirty-seven adult subjects with chronic insomnia were recruited and randomly assigned to three groups, namely, Group A (6 pairs of acupoints: Ex-HN 22, HT 7, SP 6, KI 3, LR 3, and PC 6, bilaterally distributed); Group B (acupoints as for Group A other than PC 6, which was applied only on the left side [i.e., the dominant side of the PC meridian] and the addition of DU 20, which is the main tonic acupoint for integration of all the meridians); and a control group (sham LLLT). The subjects in the treatment groups (i.e., Groups A and B) received LLLT acupuncture and those in the control group received sham LLLT for 15 minutes per session twice a week for five weeks. The sleep quality of all the subjects was evaluated using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and a sleep diary. In addition, the sympathetic activity before and after every treatment sessions was measured using the Heart Rate Variability (HRV).
resultsAll three groups showed an improved PSQI score. However, only Group A showed a significant reduction in the sleep onset latency and number of awakenings at night and a higher sleep efficiency and ESS score. Furthermore, Group B showed an increased low frequency power and normalized low frequency of the HRV signal and a lower normalized high frequency power, suggesting an increased sympathetic activity and decreased parasympathetic activity.
conclusionsFor chronic insomnia insomniacs, LLLT appears to shorten the sleep latency, decrease the number of awakening events at night, and improve the sleep efficiency.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.