Self-administered acupressure for insomnia disorder: a pilot randomized controlled trial

Area of Science:

• Integrative and Complementary Medicine
• Sleep Medicine
• Clinical Trials

Background:

• Insomnia disorder is a prevalent condition impacting quality of life.
• Self-administered acupressure is a potential low-cost intervention for insomnia.
• Evidence for the efficacy of self-administered acupressure in insomnia is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the short-term effects of self-administered acupressure on insomnia symptoms.
• To compare self-administered acupressure with sleep hygiene education in a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Main Methods:

• A pilot randomized controlled trial was conducted with 31 participants diagnosed with insomnia disorder.
• Participants were randomized to receive training in self-administered acupressure or sleep hygiene education.
• Outcomes included the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), sleep diary, and anxiety/depression scales over 8 weeks.

Main Results:

• The acupressure group showed a significantly lower ISI score at week 8 compared to the sleep hygiene group (P=0.03).
• This difference did not remain statistically significant after Bonferroni correction.
• Secondary outcomes showed moderate effect sizes for sleep onset latency and wake after sleep onset, though not statistically significant.

Conclusions:

• Self-administered acupressure, delivered via a short training course, appears to be a feasible approach for improving insomnia.
• High adherence rates (92.3%) suggest patient acceptance and sustainability.
• Further large-scale, confirmatory trials are needed to validate these findings.