The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

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  • Recent Comments

    Does music improve sleep?

    Researchers from the Institute of Behavioural Sciences in Budapest, Hungary tell us it depends on what you listen to.

    First, the details.

    • 94 students with sleep complaints were divided into 3 groups for the 3-week study.
      • Listened for 45 minutes to relaxing classical music
      • Listened to an audio book
      • Received no special treatment.
    • Sleep quality was measured using the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index.
    • Depressive symptoms were measured using the Beck Depression Inventory.

    And, the results.

    • Music significantly improved sleep quality.
    • Sleep quality did not improve in the audio book or the no treatment group.
    • Depressive symptoms decreased significantly in the music group but not in the group listening to audio books.

    The bottom line?
    The authors concluded, “Relaxing classical music is an effective intervention in reducing sleeping problems.”

    But the evidence for music is conflicting. In an earlier study, researchers from Brock University in Ontario, Canada reported, “Music was not significantly better than … tones or control conditions in improving sleep onset latency, sleep efficiency, wake time after sleep onset, or percent slow wave sleep.”

    8/23/08 21:34 JR

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