Mental Health Promotion Through Nursing Interventions Focused on Anxiety, Sleep and Well-Being: A Scoping Review

Anxiety is more prevalent than other mental disorders and maintains a bidirectional relationship with sleep disturbances, negatively affecting well-being and overall mental health. This scenario underscores the need to strengthen and qualify nursing practice in addressing these outcomes. This study aimed to map how nursing has developed care for adults and older people through interventions related to anxiety, sleep quality and well-being. A scoping review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR checklist. Searches were performed between November and December 2025 across 11 data sources: CINAHL, Cochrane Library, LILACS, MEDLINE/PubMed, SciELO, Scopus, EBSCO Open Dissertations, Web of Science, CAPES Catalogue of Theses and Dissertations, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar, in addition to reference list screening. Sixty-four studies were included. Although the search covered the period from 2010 to 2025, eligible publications were identified between 2011 and 2025, predominantly clinical trials conducted in Iran and Turkey. Thirty-one occurrences of interventions were identified, representing different modes of application of a smaller set of nursing-implementable strategies targeting anxiety, sleep and well-being. Integrative and complementary therapies predominated, including aromatherapy, music therapy, reflexology, acupressure, therapeutic touch, massage, relaxation techniques, Reiki and yoga. Other interventions comprised spiritual support, environmental adjustments (lighting, noise, temperature control), guided imagery, group counselling and self-care programmes, reinforcing nursing's holistic approach. Sleep quality was the most investigated outcome, mainly through environmental control during hospitalisation. However, considering sleep, well-being and anxiety, multicentre studies, further investigation into spirituality and the nursing process and research prioritising well-being and anxiety disorders as primary outcomes are still needed.