The Effects of Crocin Supplementation on Sleep Quality, General Health, and Happiness in Elderly Population: A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Trial

Background: Aging is a period of human life in which general health, especially happiness, and hope, may be impaired. Also, sleep quality, general health, and happiness of the elderly begin o decline at this stage of life. The present study aimed to determine the effect of crocin of saffron on sleep quality, general health, and happiness in the elderly population Methods: In this triple-blind randomized trial, 70 elderly people referred to Kashan health center in 2020 were selected. The study samples were divided into intervention and control groups using computer-generated random numbers to receive 30 mg/d of crocin (2 plus crocin tablet, 15 mg Beck depression inventory [BID]) (n=35) or placebo (2 tablets per day, 15 mg Beck depression inventory [BID]) (n=35), one hour after taking food, for 4 weeks. The sleep quality, general health, and happiness were evaluated at the beginning of the study, 4 and 8 weeks after the intervention. Data were analyzed using Chi-square, independent t-test, and repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: The two groups were matched in terms of demographic characteristics (P>0.05). The independent t-test showed no significant difference between the two groups in the baseline (sleep quality P=0.55, general health P=0.060, and happiness P=0.83) while a statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups on the post-test (P=0.001) and follow-up for three variables. Conclusion: The consumption of crocin by elderly individuals had useful outcomes on sleep quality, well-being, and happiness. Given that the efficacy of the psychological drugs is vital, nurses can use natural medications, such as crocin to improve the psychological disorders of elderly people.