Effects of Craniosacral Therapy and Aromatherapy on Sleeping Patterns: A Time Series Case Report

Introduction: Chronic insomnia affects a significant portion of the adult American population and results in considerable economic burden. The annual cost of insomnia, including health care costs for prescription and over-the-counter sleep medications and office visits, lost productivity and insomnia-related accidents is estimated at nearly $100 billion. While management options are diverse, including pharmaceuticals, behavioral therapies and other alternative treatments, there is no gold standard and outcomes vary greatly. Alternative therapies have gained some acceptance but are not routinely suggested as either complements to pharmaceutically-based treatment or as a stand-alone treatments. Methods: A 43-year-old female patient with an eight week history of chronic primary insomnia received Craniosacral Therapy and aromatherapy treatments over 6 weeks and 7 weeks, respectively, with a washout period between protocols. Subjective outcome measures included the Sleep Disturbance Questionnaire, the Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep Scale, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale. Results: The patient demonstrated increased sleep times, decreased awakenings and decreased levels of fatigue during both treatment protocols. Changes in sleep times were most apparent during Craniosacral Therapy while aromatherapy sessions coincided with greatest changes in levels of fatigue, rates of middle-of-the-night awakening and outcome measure change scores. Conclusion: The patient in this case demonstrated a positive change in sleep parameters and decreased levels of fatigue during the treatment time period. While causal relationships cannot be drawn based on the results of this case, future studies assessing the effectiveness of these therapies may be productive.