A large percentage of older people suffer from chronic insomnia, affecting many aspects of life quality and well-being. Although insomnia is most often treated with medication, a growing number of studies demonstrate the efficiency of various relaxation techniques. The present study had three aims: first, to compare two relaxation techniques - music relaxation and progressive muscular relaxation - on various objective and subjective measures of sleep quality; second, to examine the effect of these techniques on anxiety and depression; and finally, to explore possible relationships between the efficiency of both techniques and personality variables. Fifteen older adults took part in the study. Following one week of base-line measurements of sleep quality, participants followed one week of music relaxation and one week of progressive muscular relaxation before going to sleep. Order of relaxation techniques was controlled. Results show music relaxation was more efficient in improving sleep. Sleep efficiency was higher after music relaxation than after progressive muscular relaxation. Moreover, anxiety was lower after music relaxation. Progressive muscular relaxation was related to deterioration of sleep quality on subjective measures. Beyond differences between the relaxation techniques, extraverts seemed to benefit more from both music and progressive muscular relaxation. The advantage of non-pharmacological means to treat insomnia, and the importance of taking individual differences into account are discussed.
PMID: 18959456

The Effect of Music Relaxation versus Progressive Muscular Relaxation on Insomnia in Older People and Their Relationship to Personality Trait