The Effect of Acupressure on Sleep Quality in Menopausal Women: A Randomized Control Trial

BACKGROUND: One of the common problems in menopausal women is sleep disorder. Traditional Chinese acupressure is a noninvasive and safe technique. Menopausal women can easily learn the technique and a self-care method to manage their sleep disorder. This study was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of acupressure on sleep quality of postmenopausal women in Mashhad during 2009. METHODS: This double blind, randomized clinical trial was performed on 120 qualified menopausal women at the age of 41-65 years. Their sleep quality was measured according to the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Participants were randomly assigned to an acupressure group (n=37), a sham acupressure group (n=36) and a control group (n=32) by two time randomized method (systematic and simple randomized). These interventions were carried out for four consecutive weeks. The participants in the acupressure and sham acupressure groups learned to carry out the acupressure technique as a self-care at home with simultaneous massage techniques that were to be performed 2 hours before sleep, whereas only conversation was used in the control group. The data were analyzed by the SPSS software version 17. RESULTS: The results indicated significant differences in total PSQI scores among the three groups (P<0.001). Tukey’s test revealed that there were significant differences between the acupressure group and the control group (P<0.001), the acupressure group and sham acupressure group (P<0.001), and the sham acupressure and the control group (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Acupressure can be used as a complementary treatment to relieve sleep disorders in menopausal women; and is offered as an efficient method to manage sleep quality. Trial Registration Number: IRCT2013100614910N1.