Efficacy of a fish hydrolysate supplement on sleep quality: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover clinical trial
Eckert F, Meyer N, Monzel E, Bouvret E, Chataigner M, Hellhammer J. Clin Nutr ESPEN. 2024; 60:48–58.
PubMed 38479939 · doi:10.1016/j.clnesp.2024.01.002
Compares people who got the treatment with people who did not.
- Who or what was studied
- Healthy German adults reporting poor sleep quality (number not given in the abstract)
- Design
- Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover
- Dose
- A fish hydrolysate of low-molecular-weight peptides; dose not given in the abstract
- Duration
- 4 weeks
What it found
Sleep quality on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index improved from baseline during the four weeks on fish hydrolysate (p = .002), with better sleep efficacy, fewer sleep disturbances and less daytime sleepiness. But there were no significant differences between fish hydrolysate and placebo.
What it doesn't show
The head-to-head comparison was negative: fish hydrolysate did not beat placebo, so the improvement from baseline cannot be credited to the supplement. The authors' conclusion that it supports people with sleep problems goes further than that result.
Funding and conflicts of interest
Fully sponsored by Abyss Ingredients, which took part in discussing the design and writing the paper; two authors disclose a commercial interest.
Summary written from the study's abstract and checked against PubMed on November 9, 2026. How we check studies. Educational information, not medical advice.
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