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Effect of 12-Week Intake of Nicotinamide Mononucleotide on Sleep Quality, Fatigue, and Physical Performance in Older Japanese Adults: A Randomized, Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study

Mijin Kim, Jaehoon Seol, Toshiya Sato, Yuichiro Fukamizu, Takanobu Sakurai, Tomohiro Okura
Nutrients 2022 14, 755

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 35215405
PubMed Central
PMC8877443
DOI
10.3390/nu14040755
Funding
Supported by Mitsubishi Corporation Life Sciences Ltd., which provided research funds, experimental supplements and the article processing charge. The paper states that the funder had no role in data collection, data interpretation, writing or submission.
Competing interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Study snapshot

DesignRandomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group four-arm trial comparing morning versus evening NMN and matched placebo; intent-to-treat analysis with baseline observation carried forward for missing data.
ModelCommunity-dwelling Japanese adults aged 65 years or older with independent mobility, without dementia and not requiring long-term care.
Sample108 randomized; 27 per arm. Three participants dropped out, with all 108 retained in the intent-to-treat analysis.
InterventionNMN 250 mg once daily for 12 weeks, taken either after waking until noon (NMN_AM) or from 18:00 until bedtime (NMN_PM), versus time-matched placebo.
Duration12 weeks.
EndpointsPittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI); Jikaku-sho shirabe fatigue domains including drowsiness; 5-times sit-to-stand (5-STS); Grip strength; Timed Up and Go (TUG); 5-m habitual walk

What the study showed, in plain terms

This trial tested whether 250 mg of NMN taken in the morning or evening for 12 weeks changed sleep, fatigue or physical performance in older Japanese adults. Participants were randomized to morning NMN, evening NMN, morning placebo or evening placebo.

The clearest signals were in drowsiness and the five-times sit-to-stand test. The evening-NMN group had the largest effect sizes for both outcomes, but important improvements also occurred in placebo groups and across time. The PSQI sleep-quality outcomes did not show a statistically significant group-by-time interaction.

The study therefore supports a possible timing-dependent effect on lower-limb function and drowsiness, rather than evidence that NMN broadly improved every measured sleep or physical-performance endpoint.

Key findings

  • No statistically significant group-by-time interaction was found for PSQI sleep quality; several PSQI components improved over time across groups.
  • Drowsiness showed a significant group-by-time interaction (p=0.02); both evening NMN and evening placebo improved from baseline, with the evening-NMN group showing the largest effect size (d=0.64).
  • Five-times sit-to-stand showed a significant interaction (p=0.04), but post-intervention performance improved versus baseline in all four groups; the evening-NMN group had the largest effect size (d=0.72).
  • Supplement adherence exceeded 95%, and the paper reports no side effects from NMN ingestion.
  • The authors concluded that afternoon/evening NMN may improve lower-limb function and reduce drowsiness, while acknowledging placebo effects.

What this study can and cannot tell us

Daily dietary NMN intake was not controlled or quantified, although the authors note that ordinary food contains relatively small amounts.

The trial measured questionnaires and physical performance but did not assess physiological changes in blood, urine or muscle, and did not use objective sleep tools such as actigraphy or polysomnography.

Placebo effects were observed for sit-to-stand, drowsiness and sleep-disturbance measures, limiting attribution of all observed improvements specifically to NMN.

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