The Effect of Transcotaneus Electrical Acupoint Stimulation on Sleep Quality in Nurses

Abstract

Background: Sleep problems are one of the most common health problems in people with shift jobs. Due to being awake during night, nurses face with sleep problems, resulting in impaired cognitive functioning and professional mistakes. One of the common treatments in complementary medicine is transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of TEAS on the sleep quality in nurses working shift in Kermanshah hospitals. Methods: This study was a single-blind clinical trial conducted in Kermanshah city in 2015. The research population included 36 shift nurses working in Kermanshah hospitals. Nurse's sleep quality was evaluated by pittsburgh sleep quality questionnaire. We used "electrical stimulating acupuncture point's machine". The excitatory points included SP6, LI4 and HT7. Results: The results showed that there was no significant difference between Pittsburgh sleep quality index in three groups before the intervention (P > 0.05). After the intervention, the sleep quality index was significantly increased in the real points group and sham points (P < 0.001), (P = 0.016). Conclusions:The results of this study showed that electrical stimulation of acupuncture points can be effective in improving the overall index of sleep quality of shift work nurses. It is recommended that objective tools be used to study the effects of this method more precisely.

Non-Pharmacological Interventions to Improve Chronic Disease Risk Factors and Sleep in Shift Workers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…In all four studies, the controls received a work rest break similar to that of the intervention group, but without the treatment. One study found the active control ("sham" acupressure points) group also had significant improvements in subjective sleep quality [134]. Further, a significant improvement in blood pressure in the control (reading and resting) group was found in a separate study [132].…”

“…Two studies investigated the effect of massage [131,132], one study investigated the effect of touch therapy [133] and one study investigated the effect of Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation [134]. Half (n = 2) of the studies examined blood pressure changes [132,133] and the other half (n = 2) examined subjective sleep quality [131,134]. One study investigated objective sleep duration [131].…”

“…One study investigated objective sleep duration [131]. Two studies [131,134] found significantly improved subjective sleep following intervention. Two of the studies found that control [131] and sham [134] groups also had significantly improved subjective sleep quality.…”

“…Two studies [131,134] found significantly improved subjective sleep following intervention. Two of the studies found that control [131] and sham [134] groups also had significantly improved subjective sleep quality. One study found a significant decrease in systolic blood pressure in the control (reading) group but no change in intervention (massage) group [132].…”

“…Broadly, objective sleep measures were improved by controlled light exposure including intermittent bright light [123,130], bright light and light-blocking goggles [119,126,129,130], light-blocking goggles alone [125], schedule change which increased recovery periods [87,92,96] and prescriptive sleep scheduling [116]. Subjective measures of sleep were improved by a change to 12 h shifts (e.g., two-shift system) [70,88,89,91,93,97], a change to forward rotation schedules [78,80,83,90], increased rest or recovery periods [75,79], individualised behavioural intervention aimed at improving sleep and fatigue [106,115], and some complementary therapies (e.g., electrical acupoint stimulation and aromatherapy massage) [131,134].…”