مقايسه مداخله پزشكي و روانشناختي در بهبود كيفيت خواب

Comparison between Medical and Psychological Interventions for Improving Sleep Quality

The aim of this research is to compare medical and psy¬chological interventions to improve sleep quality among subjects who refer to sleep clinics in the city of Tehran. The population of interest includes all of the clienteles in sleep clinics of Tehran for a month suffering from insomnia. The sample for this study includes 26 clientele of Baharloo sleep clinic. This sample is randomly selected and divided into two groups with 13 clientele in each group. Psychological intervention group subjects were given instructions for pro¬gressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, relaxation music, and sleep hygiene in 4 sessions. Subjects in medical intervention group used hypnotic drugs (Benzodiazepines and Benzodiazepine receptor agonists) in 4 weeks and they all were examined after 4 weeks. The scales for obtaining information consisted of; Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Berlin Questionnaire for Sleep Apnea, and Beck Depression Inventory. The results showed that psychological interventions can amend sleep latency (SL), total sleep time (TST), sleep efficacy (SE) and sleep quality (SQ) but medical intervention and drug therapy can significantly affect sleep efficacy and sleep quality. Comparison between the two kinds of interventions showed that psychological interventions is more effective in improving SL, TST, SE and SQ than medical intervention. According to the results, we may suggest that psychological interventions is the more proper alternative for the remedy of insomnia. Keywords: Sleep quality, progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, relaxation music, sleep hygiene, drug therapy