Effects of an intervention with drinking chamomile tea on sleep quality and depression in sleep disturbed postnatal women: a randomized controlled trial.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of chamomile tea on sleep quality, fatigue and depression in postpartum women.


BACKGROUND
Sleep quality is a significant issue for postnatal women. Chamomile is widely used as a folk remedy for its presumed sedative-hypnotic effects.


METHODS
A pretest-post-test randomized controlled trial was used.


METHODS
A total of 80 Taiwanese postnatal women with poor sleep quality (Postpartum Sleep Quality Scale; PSQS score ≧16) were recruited from November 2012-August 2013. They were systematically assigned, with a random start, to either the experimental group (n = 40) or the control group (n = 40). The participants in the experimental group were instructed to drink chamomile tea for a period of 2 weeks. The participants in the control group received regular postpartum care only. The PSQS, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, and Postpartum Fatigue Scale were used to assess outcomes. Two-sample t-tests were used to examine the mean differences in outcome variables between the two groups.


RESULTS
Compared with the control group, the experimental group demonstrated significantly lower scores of physical-symptoms-related sleep inefficiency (t = -2·482, P = 0·015) and the symptoms of depression (t = -2·372, P = 0·020). However, the scores for all three instruments were similar for both groups at 4-week post-test, suggesting that the positive effects of chamomile tea were limited to the immediate term.


CONCLUSIONS
Chamomile tea may be recommended to postpartum women as a supplementary approach to alleviating depression and sleep quality problems.
Department of Nursing, Fooyin University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Shao-Min
SM
Chang
Institute of Allied Health Sciences and Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Chung-Hey
CH
Chen
D000328:Adult; D020843:Chamomile; D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005221:Fatigue / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008517:Phytotherapy; D012890:Sleep / Q000187:drug effects*; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan; D013662:Tea; D055815:Young Adult
D013662:Tea
chamomile tea; clinical trial; complementary therapy; depression; fatigue; nursing; randomized controlled trial; sleep quality; women's health