ARGUMENT 167 by monkeybiao

monkeybiaoUID: 2527713

0910[NORTH AMERICA FLYING] ARGUMENT 167 by monkeybiao

A folk remedy for insomnia, the scent in lavender flowers, has now been proved effective. In a recent study, 30 volunteers with chronic insomnia slept each night for three weeks on lavender-scented pillows in a controlled room where their sleep was monitored. During the first week, volunteers continued to take their usual sleeping medication. They slept soundly but wakened feeling tired. During the second week, the volunteers discontinued their medication. As a result, they slept less soundly than the previous week and felt even more tired. During the third week, the volunteers slept longer and more soundly than in the previous two weeks. This shows that over a short period of time lavender cures insomnia.
A folk remedy is usually a plant-based form of treatment common to traditional forms of medicine, ones that developed before the advent of modern medical services and technology.

Syllabus:
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所谓的recent study就是来自30名自愿者，sample size 太小，不具有效性。而且3周时间试验也太短，失眠是个长期过程。
这个方法的有效性表示质疑。
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第二周睡眠质量下降，没有继续服药可能是其中的一个因素，也可能在第二周内干活很累，或者有心事，影响了睡眠质量。
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偏方在现在医学技术出来之前就有了，并不能说明它比现代方法有效。

Text body:
The author of this editorial argues that the folk remedy can cure insomnia in short period of time; to support the conclusion also cites a study that using lavender-scented pillow can bring smooth and steady sleeping to you. In order to proved further, he made a comparison between the volunteer when they are monitored: 1st week, take sleeping medication before they go to bed, while during the 2ndweed, stopping this method and observer what kind of the manifestations they may appear, and at 3rdweed they continue taking this medication, and discover they can go on soundly and longer sleeping. The study seems reasonable, convincing and logical at first glance, but actually some fallacies exist in the memo.

First and foremost, the author fails to provide the concrete evidences to prove the effects of remedy. The argument relies on the study findings which have some fatal drawbacks; the sample size of the study is too small and not cogent, representative. Maybe these 30 volunteers are seldom appear insomnia during ordinary life, or the frequency is relative low compared to those are heavy insomnia patients. They may occur once a month. Therefore the volunteers are the elements which should be seriously treated. Moreover, three weeks are very short in some extent, as insomnia is a chronic process. Such as insomnia, hypertension should observe a long time, three weeks are not enough. So, the validity of this method is susceptible.


Next, during the 2nd week, the quality of sleeping going down may be multi-factors problems. According to the study, volunteers are not given the remedy sleeping medication, which results in their shorter and unsoundly sleeping. It seems logically, but that’s not only element which may cause the phenomenon. For example, you have something uncomfortable in your mind, but you cannot speak it out. In this case, it can extremely influence your sleeping quality. So, this is an opposite example to prove that bad quality of sleeping is caused by many factors, not single.

Aside from the problems I mentioned above, there are other flaws should be pointed out. There is no denying the fact that the history of remedy is longer than the modern medical services and technology, but basing this single fact, it cannot make absolute conclusion that the effect of remedy is better than the modern medical technology. Since society advancement, modern medical treatment measures have improved largely. Such as, DSA, MRI, GENE THERAPY, and so forth, are common treatments nowadays, which we cannot imagine several decades ago, even do not understand how it used for. From my point of view, there is no better means of treatment, but more suitable way of treatment.

To sum up, firstly, to persuade me that remedy can cure insomnia should supply more convincing evidences that after sleeping on a lavenders-scented pillow can let those have insomnia have a good night, and feel more relax in the next morning. Secondly, the author should put more time on observing the volunteers who are in the experiment. In addition, enlarge the statistic is quite necessary.

依清影UID: 2635532

好多中文化的语言~

sogoUID: 2537803

"偏方在现在医学技术出来之前就有了，并不能说明它比现代方法有"?

文中根本就没提吧