Acupuncture review reports mixed insomnia results across comparison groups
A review of randomized trials reported improvements in some sleep measures, but results differed between sham and medication comparisons. Hormone changes were separate outcomes.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
The review reported better scores on some sleep measures with acupuncture-based interventions. Results on the ISI sleep scale improved in comparisons with sham acupuncture, but a statistically significant improvement was not reported in medication comparisons. Hormone changes were separate outcomes; the abstract does not show that they caused any reported sleep improvement.
The abstract omits treatment durations and reports some sleep-score confidence intervals in descending order, making their numerical interpretation uncertain. Study results for blood melatonin also varied substantially. This summary cannot resolve those issues from the abstract alone.
What researchers found
ISI sleep-scale scores
Improvement versus sham acupuncture; no statistically significant improvement reported versus medication. Assessment timeframe was not reported in the abstract.
Different ways to measure sleep
The review brought together sleep-scale scores and recorded sleep measures. It reported improvements in sleep efficiency and several other recorded measures, but results on a sleep scale depended on whether acupuncture was compared with sham treatment or medication.
Hormones were separate measurements
Blood melatonin was higher with acupuncture-based interventions, while no difference in saliva melatonin was reported between groups. These measurements alone do not establish better sleep, and the blood results varied substantially across studies.
The original publication
Sleep and endocrine effects of acupuncture for insomnia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Hu Y, Liu Y, Li W et al.
Front Med (Lausanne) · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 42023088
- Record checked
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