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.