Effects of delta sleep-inducing peptide on sleep of chronic insomniac patients. A double-blind study.
Bes. F F; Hofman. W W; Schuur. J J; Van Boxtel. C C
Key Findings
- DSIP modestly increased sleep efficiency and reduced sleep latency in objective measurements.
- One measure of self‑reported tiredness improved in the DSIP group.
- Subjective sleep quality did not change, and the overall effect was weak and possibly due to placebo fluctuations.
- The study concluded DSIP is unlikely to be a major short‑term treatment for chronic insomnia.
Practical Outcomes
- For biohackers, DSIP does not appear to be a reliable insomnia fix. The modest objective gains are offset by a lack of perceived benefit, and the IV dosing used is impractical for most users. It may be worth noting for safety reference, but not recommended as a primary sleep aid.
Summary
In a small study of 16 people with chronic insomnia, giving a short IV dose of delta sleep‑inducing peptide (DSIP) slightly improved how quickly they fell asleep and how efficiently they slept, but the changes were weak and didn’t make people feel better about their sleep overall.
Abstract
The influence of delta sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP) on sleep was studied in 16 chronic insomniac patients according to a double-blind matched-pairs parallel-groups design. Subjects slept for 5 consecutive nights in the laboratory. Night 1 was used for adaptation, night 2 for baseline measurements. In the afternoon before the 3rd, 4th and 5th night, half of the patients received intravenously 25 nmol/kg body weight DSIP, and half of the patients a glucose solution (placebo). Measures for sleep structure, objective (polysomnography) and subjective sleep quality and for subjective tiredness were assessed. The results for objective sleep quality indicated higher sleep efficiency and shorter sleep latency with DSIP as compared to placebo. One measure of subjectively estimated tiredness decreased within the DSIP group. Data analysis suggested, however, that the statistically significant effects were weak and in part could be due to an incidental change in the placebo group. As none of the other measures, including subjective sleep quality, showed any change, it was concluded that short-term treatment of chronic insomnia with DSIP is not likely to be of major therapeutic benefit.
Study Information
pubmed
1992
10.1159/000118919
10