DENVER – The Ayurvedic medical practice known as shirodhara showed promise as a nonpharmacologic treatment for insomnia in a small pilot study.
Shirodhara is a relaxing procedure that entails dripping warm herbalized oil from a special pot onto the forehead of a supine patient. In Hindu culture, the forehead is the site of the third eye. The term shirodhara comes from the Sanscrit words shir (head) and dhara (flow).
The pilot study involved nine patients who underwent shirodhara for insomnia for 40 minutes daily on 5 consecutive days. Brahmi oil, which is sesame oil processed with waterhyssop (Bacopa monnieri) and other herbs, was used in the study, Dr. S. Prasad Vinjamury explained at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association.
Mean symptomatic improvement as reflected in Insomnia Severity Index scores was 31% on day 5 compared with baseline. Three patients showed a modest 4%-8% improvement, while the other six experienced more substantial 26%-70% reductions in Insomnia Severity Index scores, said Dr. Vinjamury of the Southern California University of Health Sciences, an institution for complementary and alternative medicine located in Whittier, Calif.
One week following the fifth and final shirodhara treatment session, three patients showed further improvement. The rest either maintained the gains seen at the end of therapy or reverted to baseline.
Patients reported no treatment side effects. That’s a big plus for shirodhara as a potential therapy for insomnia, given that it has been estimated that 1.6 million Americans resort to complementary and alternative medicine for insomnia because they wish to avoid medication side effects, tolerance, and dependence, he observed.
In India, shirodhara is a popular therapy for a wide variety of medical ailments, including insomnia. In the United States, some health spas offer it as part of a relaxing massage package. This pilot study in insomnia was intended as proof of concept, paving the way for properly designed randomized, controlled trials in U.S. patients, according to Dr. Vinjamury.
He declared having no relevant financial interests.