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Randomized trial · measured the question itself

12-week trial in 120 children with cerebral palsy: longer sleep and quicker falling asleep

K and colleagues · Indian journal of pediatrics · 2026

Original title: Oral Melatonin Supplementation for Sleep Disturbances in Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Trial.

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What the study found

Points to benefit

At 12 weeks, sleep was 6.29 (0.78) vs 4.98 (0.85) h (MD 1.31; P < 0.001) and time to fall asleep was 43.20 ± 15.57 vs 70.92 ± 14.95 min (MD 27.72; P < 0.001). Side effects were minimal (n = 10).

The study at a glance

Type of study
Randomized trial
Who or what was studied
120 people · children aged 3 to 12 with cerebral palsy and sleep problems
What was tested
Melatonin 3 mg raised up to 10 mg a day vs placebo for 12 weeks
What it measured
The question itself: sleep, and safety with long-term use
Daily amount
10 mg a day
How long
12 weeks
Trial registration
CTRI/2020/09/027813
Who has a stake
No stake declared
Conflict of interest: None.
Journal
Indian journal of pediatrics, 2026
Source
PubMed record 41369870. This page is based on the abstract only.

How much this study counts

  • ✓Randomized: people were put into groups by chance, so the groups start out alike.
  • ✓Compared with a placebo, a dummy treatment.
  • •Medium size: 120 people.
  • •Lasted 12 weeks.
  • ✓Measured the question itself: sleep, and safety with long-term use.
  • ✓No competing interests declared.
  • •Summarized from the PubMed abstract only. The full paper may hold details the abstract leaves out.

✓ Strength– Limit• Note

These points come from fixed rules about the type of study, its size and length, what it measured, and who has a stake. Every study on Digestery gets the same rules.

Where this study sits

Each dot is one on-topic paper on this question. Steps near the top answer the question more directly.

↑ Stronger evidence

  1. Trials in people: sleep onset and sleep quality

    8

    2 benefit, 2 mixed, 4 no difference

    ↑ This study is the ringed dot

  2. Trials in people: other measures

    2

    1 benefit, 1 no difference

  3. Trials in people: lab tests or safety

    0

    None among the papers we read.

  4. Population studies

    0

    None among the papers we read.

  5. Blood levels and genes

    0

    None among the papers we read.

↓ Weaker evidence

  • Points to benefit
  • Mixed
  • No difference
  • No direction
  • Points to harm

How it fits with the other research

The short answer to “Does melatonin help you sleep?”

A small effect, clearer in children.

Confidence: low. Based on 20 on-topic papers.

Read the full answer

Of the other 7 papers on the same step: 1 benefit, 2 mixed, 4 no difference. This one found benefit. It differs from most of them.

Other papers on the same step

See all 20 studies on this question

How this page was made

Label

First read of the abstract
Claude Sonnet
Independent second read
Claude Haiku
Differences settled
The two reads agreed on every checked field. Claude Opus 5.5.
Headline
Claude Sonnet, from the checked study record. A script checked its numbers and wording.
Numbers
Checked against the abstract by a script
“How much this study counts”
Fixed rules, the same for every study
Source check by a person
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