Comparative effectiveness of multiple acupuncture therapies for primary insomnia: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized trial.

Authors: Yao Lu, Hongfei Zhu, Qi Wang, Chen Tian, Honghao Lai, Liangying Hou et al.Journal: Sleep medicinePublished: May 3, 2022DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2022.03.012

Q2 JournalSJR: 2.252h-index: 81SCImago

Strong EvidenceSystematic Review

Insomnia

In Plain Language: sleep, explained

Researchers reviewed and compared multiple acupuncture-based treatments for people with primary insomnia by analyzing data from many randomized controlled trials. They found that certain acupuncture approaches were more effective than others at improving sleep, though the strength of evidence varied across different treatment methods.

Key Findings: what this systematic review found about sleep

✓The study identified that certain acupuncture-based treatments demonstrated greater effectiveness than others for treating primary insomnia through network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
✓The strength of evidence supporting different acupuncture treatment methods varied considerably across the analyzed studies.
✓Multiple acupuncture therapies showed measurable improvements in sleep outcomes for patients with primary insomnia, though comparative effectiveness differed between specific approaches.

What This Means for You

While acupuncture shows promise for insomnia in research, this study focused on acupuncture therapies rather than reflexology specifically, so the findings may not directly apply to reflexology treatments.

What This Means for Practitioners

If you incorporate acupuncture or acupressure techniques into reflexology practice for insomnia clients, understand that evidence supports some acupuncture approaches more strongly than others, and consider this systematic review when selecting which techniques to emphasize.

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Sleep: common questions

What does this study say about sleep?

What did this study find?

The study identified that certain acupuncture-based treatments demonstrated greater effectiveness than others for treating primary insomnia through network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. The strength of evidence supporting different acupuncture treatment methods varied considerably across the analyzed studies. Multiple acupuncture therapies showed measurable improvements in sleep outcomes for patients with primary insomnia, though comparative effectiveness differed between specific approaches.

How strong is this evidence?

This is a systematic review and we rate its evidence strong. It was published in Sleep medicine, a Q2 journal. This study is indexed here for context; it did not test reflexology itself.