Argument167 [=galloper=组] BY B18 之

sally_zhiyiUID: 2636363

167, 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.


According to the author’s conclusion, a folk remedy for insomnia has been proved effective in this argument. It seems logically at first glance. However, it contains several facets after a careful examination. I will analyze each of the facets in turn.

First of all, the study, which is conducted to prove the scent of lavender flowers can cure insomnia, is needed to be reexamined. The number of volunteers is too small that can hardly be representative. In addition, the volunteers just are those with chronic insomnia, how about people who have acute disease? What's more, thirty volunteers' information haven't been presented in the article, we do not know how severe the volunteers got insomnia. And we don't even know the volunteers’ physique, ages, sexual, etc. Hence, we could not evaluate if they are representing the people who with insomnia.

Second, it seems that the author has mixed up the definition of "insomnia" and "have a good sleep". Insomnia should be someone who can hardly fall asleep at night with every method. But the study shows that the volunteers can sleep soundly during those three weeks. However, how soundly or long a person sleeps, or how tired a person feels after sleep, is irrelevant to whether the person suffers from insomnia.

Granted that all of the volunteers are suffering from insomnia, other factors, except the scent of lavender flowers, could also account for the improvement of sleeping. For instance, likely the volunteers do a lot of sport so that they feel tired at night, or maybe their eating habits have change during those three weeks, they may eat something good for easily falling asleep.

Third, the study should include another group of people who do not sleep on the pillows with scent of lavender flowers as counterparts. Otherwise, the result of the study can not successfully prove that lavenders can cure insomnia. Volunteers may be recovered without such kind of pillows. They can be cured by other medicines or treatments but lavender.

Finally, before I come to my conclusion, I need to point out the vital facet of the study. The author can not hastily conclude that the volunteers’ insomnia has been thoroughly cured without any follow-up studies. If the volunteers suffer from insomnia again after the study, it can overthrow the result and prove the lavender flowers can not cure insomnia at all.

To sum up, the folk remedy for insomnia still needs a more comprehensive study to prove it validity. The author should take the factors such as the given areas above into consideration. The argument would then have been more logically acceptable.