The Effect of Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) on Sleep Quality in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure (CHF) Download PDF

Background and Objective: Sleep disturbance is a common complaint in patients with Chronic Heart Failure (CHF). Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) is used as a non-pharmaceutical approach to ameliorate sleep quality. The aim of this research was to evaluate the effect of PMR on sleep quality in patients with CHF. Materials and Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, 90 patients involved in CHF were selected and randomly put into the intervention (n=45) and control (n=45) groups. Patients in the intervention group received PMR training for 3 sessions, while the control group received routine nursing care. Before training at the end of the 4th week, the sleep qualities of the 2 groups were measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Results: After 4 weeks, the scores of the PSQI decreased in the intervention group from 12.86±2.63 to 10.49±2.43 with a change of -2.3±1.40 and P<0.001, as well as in the control group from 12.34±2.43 to 11.70±2.78 with a change of -0.6±1.65 and P=0.015. There was only a statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding daytime dysfunction (P<0.001) and sleep medication use (P=0.026). Conclusion: 4 weeks of PMR twice a day seemed to improve sleep quality in Heart Failure (HF) patients.