The Efficacy of Acupressure on Sleep Quality in Menopausal Women

Sleep disorder is a common problem in menopausal women and the decrease in the sleep leads to poor daily activity. Traditional Chinese acupressure is a noninvasive, effective and safe technique that can be easily taught to menopausal women so that they apply it as a self-care method and a manager of sleep disruption. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of acupressure on sleep quality of postmenopausal women.This double blind randomized clinical trial was performed on 120 qualified menopausal women at the age of 41-65 years; and sleep quality was measured with Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI ).Participants were randomly assigned to an acupressure group, a sham acupressure group and a control group by two time randomized method (systematic and simple randomized). These interventions were carried out for 4 consecutive weeks. Participants in acupressure group and sham acupressure group learned to carry out acupressure technique as a self care at home with the simultaneous massage techniques that were to be performed 2 hours before sleep, whereas only conversation was used in the control group. The statistical software package for social science (SPSS) Version 17 was used for data analysis.

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Key information

Conditions

Poor Quality Sleep Dyssomnias Mental Disorders Nervous System Diseases Sleep Disorders, Intrinsic Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders Sleep Wake Disorders

Age range

41 year–65 year

Sex eligibility

Female

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Phase 2 / Phase 3

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

spending at least 12 months after amenorrhea or follicle stimulating hormone
(FSH) Serum level ≥ 40,
healthy of the pressure points,
having a full consciousness
having an acceptable ability of listening
speaking to receive training
doing the self- care techniques at home,
no mental and physical disorders,
getting a score higher than 5 from the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)
able to sit for about 30 minutes.

Exclusion criteria

having specific eating diets,
addicted to narcotic drugs,
using the drugs causing sleep disorders,
suffering from special disease,
taking hormonal drugs during 3 last months,
using herbal medicine to improve the menopausal symptoms,
BMI higher than 30,
having the moderate and severe depression based on Beck Depression Inventory,
feeling of severe tiredness/ fatigue and anxiety,
having circular job specially night job
lack of cooperation with researchers.

Treatment and study plan

true accupressure

Other

Four acupoints were chosen for subjects in the acupressure group. They were Shenmen on the wrist crease, Sanyinjiao point (SP6) on both feet, Fengchi on the hairline of the back neck (occipital area)and Yintang, at the top of the nose on the center line between the ends of the eyebrows.

Sham acupressure

Other

Non-acupoints, which were 1 to 3 traditional Chinese unit of length (CUN) away from true acupoints, were used in sham acupressure group.These points were out of the route of energy

Primary outcomes

treatment of quality of sleep

Time frame: 4 consecutive weeks

treatment of quality of sleep by acupressure.sleep quality was measured with Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI ).

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Mashhad University of Medical Sciences

Other

Registry information

Official study title

The Effect of Acupressure on Sleep Quality in Menopausal Women

Important dates

Study start: 2010
Primary completion: 2011
Study completion: 2011
First posted: Jul 22, 2013
Registry last updated: Jul 23, 2013

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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Completed