In a new study, researchers have shown that saffron can enhance the quality of sleep in adults who have been experiencing poor sleep.
The research was conducted by a team at Murdoch University.
Poor sleep is a serious issue as poor sleep quality can have a negative impact on both mental and physical health and can interfere with daily function.
Earlier research has found saffron can be an effective natural agent for the treatment of mild-to-moderate depression.
Because many of these people reported improvements in their sleep, in this study the team focused on healthy adults who were generally medication-free but had experienced poor sleep lasting greater than four weeks.
They tested volunteers who were not being treated for depression, were physically-healthy, had been medication-free and had self-reported symptoms of poor sleep.
The team found that a standardized saffron extract (affron) at a dose of 14mg, twice daily for 28 days improved sleep quality in adults with self-reported poor sleep, with most of these changes occurring in the first 7-days of treatment.
In addition to the improved sleep, the study showed that saffron was well tolerated with no reported adverse effects.
However, the researchers reported that even though the results were positive, the findings require replication using larger sample size and differing populations.
The lead researcher of the study is Dr. Adrian Lopresti.
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