Effectiveness of Homoeopathic Treatments for Sleep Disorders in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review According to the Principles of Evidence-Based Medicine.

Background: Sleep disorders are common in childhood and adolescence and can negatively affect cognitive development, mood regulation, behaviour, and quality of life. Parents frequently seek complementary therapies such as homoeopathy, yet the scientific evidence for homoeopathic treatments in paediatric sleep disorders remains uncertain. This systematic review examines the effectiveness of homoeopathic interventions for sleep disorders in children and adolescents according to evidence-based medicine principles. Objectives: To systematically review and evaluate the effectiveness of homoeopathic treatments for sleep disorders in children and adolescents, following evidence-based principles. We aimed to summarise current clinical evidence from 2015-2025 on whether homoeopathy improves paediatric insomnia and other sleep-related disorders and to assess the quality of that evidence. Methods: PubMed, Scopus, and allied databases were searched for RCTs and observational studies involving participants <18 years with sleep disorders (insomnia, bruxism, and enuresis) treated with homoeopathy. English-language studies were screened manually, and bias was assessed qualitatively. Results: Five studies (four RCTs, one observational; 451 participants) met inclusion criteria: Two RCTs reported complex homoeopathic remedies showing some improvement over glycine or placebo for insomnia symptoms. A crossover RCT reported nearly significant bruxism improvement with Melissa officinalis 12C versus placebo (Visual Analogic Scale 0-10; ΔVAS -2.36 vs. -1.72, p = 0.05) and significant VAS improvement in comparison to Phytolacca (p = 0.018). A double-blind RCT in enuretic children showed individualised homoeopathy reduced weekly bedwetting episodes (median -2.4 nights, p < 0.04). One observational study also noted symptom improvement of nocturnal enuresis. No serious adverse effects were reported. Bias risk varied: one open-label trial showed high risk; others were adequately blinded. Conclusions: Current evidence suggests preliminary signals that homoeopathy may have modest benefits for paediatric insomnia, bruxism, and enuresis, with an acceptable safety profile. However, the number and quality of studies are limited, and findings should be interpreted cautiously. Larger, high-quality trials are needed to clarify the potential role of homoeopathic interventions in paediatric sleep disorders. Current epistemological advances in study planning and medical student training should be taken into account: critical and intersectional (or better still, transdisciplinary) thinking with retrospective examination of heuristic initial theses, gender aspects, life course health, context variables and criteria for individualised, patient-related precision medicine.