Shirodhara for Insomnia - A Case series

Purpose: To test the effects of Shirodhara – ayurvedic oil dripping treatment for insomnia patients and to determine the feasibility of recruiting and retaining participants during the trial for such treatments in the United States. Methods: The study adopted a prospective case series design. Local IRB approved the study. Ten volunteers were enrolled into the study. Study intervention included Shirodhara, dripping of Brahmi oil (sesame oil processed with Bacopa monieri and other herbs) on the forehead for 40 minutes for five consecutive days. Shiroplus equipment®, which automatically warms and pumps the oil, was used for the treatment. Standardized outcome measures such as Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), HD-16 Quality of Life Scale and Sleep diary were used to determine the improvement of sleep. Results: Seven females and two males (n=9) completed the study. One female subject dropped out after two days due to some personal reasons. The mean age of participants was 42.12 (R:25-74). Almost all participants reported improvement in their sleep at the end of five days based on the ISI scores. The percentage of improvement ranged from 25% to 69% in six participants where as three participants reported only 10% improvement. Similar trends of improvement were seen in HD-16 QOL scores and the self-report of participants in their sleep diaries. No adverse events were reported by the participants. Conclusion: Shirodhara, a safe non-invasive treatment, may have a role in the treatment for insomnia. However, well-designed larger randomized clinical trials are recommended to substantiate the preliminary findings of this study.