People with insomnia who take placebos, or “dummy pills,” may feel more rested than patients who get no treatment at all, a review of sleep research finds.
Previous clinical trials testing sleep drugs like temazepam (Restoril) against placebo pills have found insomnia symptoms can improve even when patients don't get the real treatment, said senior study author Dr. Ben Colagiuri of the University of Sydney in Australia. One problem with using placebos in these trials, however, is that sometimes simply taking part in a study can influence how people perceive their symptoms, he said.
