Effects of Warm and Cold Footbath on Sleep Quality in Pregnant Women with Restless Legs Syndrome

Sleep disorders are one of the most common problems during pregnancy and the presence of Restless legs syndrome in pregnancy can further impair sleep quality The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of two methods of cold and warm water immersion on sleep quality of pregnant women with restless legs syndrome.

This randomized clinical trial study was performed on 80 pregnant women with restless legs syndrome referred to Arak Taleghani hospital in 2019. The samples were selected by convenience method and were randomly divided into two groups: hot water (group 1) and cold (group 2). Group 1 was asked to soak their feet in cold water 20 to 25°c every night for 10 minutes and for 2 weeks. Group 2 was asked to soak their feet in warm water 40 to 45°c every night for 10 minutes and for 2 weeks. Sleep quality was measured between the two groups and at the beginning and end of the study by Pittzburgh Sleep Quality Questionnaire. Data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 23) and Chi-square, independent t-test and paired t-test. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Sleep quality in hot water group before and after the intervention was 7.42 ± 2.46 and 4.91± 2.17, respectively (P = 0.001); in cold water before and after the intervention was 6.50 ± 2.56 and 4.47 ±1.86, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the sleep quality scores of the two groups after the study (p = 0.329).

Intervention with hot water and cold water reduced the quality of sleep score in pregnant women. As a result, the mentioned interventions can be used to improve the sleep quality of pregnant women who are not able to use medical interventions due to their side effects