The Effect of Benson's Relaxation Response on Sleep Quality and Anorexia in Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Author: Mehdi Harorani 1, Fahimeh Davodabady 2, Zohreh Farahani 3, Ali Khanmohamadi Hezave 4, Fatemeh Rafiei 5
Affiliation:
1 Department of Nursing, School of Nursing, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran; Traditional and Complementary Medicine Research Center (TCMRC), Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran. Electronic address: m.harorani@yahoo.com.
2 Department of Nursing, School of Nursing, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran; Traditional and Complementary Medicine Research Center (TCMRC), Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran. Electronic address: F_davodabady@arakmu.ac.ir.
3 Department of Nursing, School of Nursing, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran. Electronic address: z.f.h.nursing@gmail.com.
4 Student Research Committee, Department of Nursing, School of Nursing, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran. Electronic address: alikhan.nurse@gmail.com.
5 Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Health, Scientific Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: f.rafiei87@yahoo.com.
Conference/Journal: Complement Ther Med
Date published: 2020 May
Other:
Volume ID: 50 , Pages: 102344 , Word Count: 255
PMID: 32444038 DOI: 10.1016/j.ctim.2020.102344
Abstract
Background and objectives: Patients with cancer experience many side effects due to its nature and usual treatments. Sleep disorders and anorexia are the most commonly reported symptoms in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of Benson's Relaxation Response (BRR) on sleep quality and anorexia in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Methodology and participants: In the present clinical trial, a total of 84 patients were enrolled and randomly divided into two groups of experimental and control. Benson's relaxation response was administered to the experimental group twice a day over 5 consecutive days. Data was collected using St. Mary's Hospital Sleep Questionnaire (SMHSQ) and anorexia questionnaire with Visual Analog Scale (VAS).
Results: The results of our study showed a significant improvement in the sleep quality in the experimental group at 24 (p = 0.02) and 48 (p = 0.001) hours after the intervention compared to the control group. Benson's relaxation response (BRR) also had a significant effect on the anorexia in the experimental group at 24 (7.5 ± 1.6) and 48 (6.9 ± 2.1) hours after the intervention compared to the control group. No side effects were reported during the study and follow-up period.
Conclusion: Benson's relaxation response as a complementary method may improve sleep quality and anorexia in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Further studies with greater sample size and longer follow-up period are needed to confirm the current findings.
Keywords: Anorexia; Benson’s relaxation response; Cancer; Sleep quality.
Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Conflict of interest statement
Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have no financial or nonfinancial conflicts of interest.
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