Non-Pharmacological Intervention to Reduce Sleep Disturbance among Older adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial Study

Aim: This study aimed to determine the effect of folk music intervention and sleep hygiene education on the sleep quality of the older adults. Participants and Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial (RTC) that investigated the effect of music and sleep- hygiene on sleep disturbance among the elderly in Urmia. The study population consisted of 150 elderly people covered by Urmia comprehensive health centers based on inclusion and exclusion criteria and were evaluated by Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Then, using the blocked randomization method to allocate individuals between the three groups and participants were placed in the groups of the sleep-hygiene group(SHG), music-sleep hygiene group(MSHG), and control group(CG). The intervention was performed on the older adults with sleep disturbance for two months. Data were analyzed using SPSSv.21 and statistical tests (one-way ANOVA, X2-test) at the significant level of p≤0.05. Results: Comparing post-intervention scores of seven dimensions of the questionnaire showed a significant difference between the three groups in terms of sleep quality scores (F = 14.34, p = 0.0001), sleep onset latency (SOL) (F = 10.05, P = 0.0001), sleep duration (F = 21.91, P = 0.0001), sleep efficiency (F = 24.98, P = 0.0001), sleep disturbance (F = 15.37, P = 0.0001), sleeping medications (F = 1.840, P = 0.04), and daytime functioning (F = 1.181, P = 0.02).There are significant differences between the three groups, and the combined music &sleep hygiene education method can have a greater impact on improving the sleep quality of older adults than mere sleep- hygiene education. Conclusion: It seems that with sleep hygiene education and using the favorite music of the elderly before going to bed, sleep disorders can be overcome and according to the results of the present study, Azeri folk music, including folk music, can be used.