The Role of Complementary Therapy to Reduce Insomnia in Older Adults

Insomnia in older people results from aging and declining body function. However, no studies have identified the proper therapy to reduce insomnia in older adults. 

This study aimed to examine the complementary therapies commonly used to lessen insomnia in older adults. 

A systematic review was conducted based on PRISMA (the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses), and quantitative and randomized controlled trials were searched in PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Lilacs, SciELO, DOAJ, ProQuest, and GARUDA. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the EPHPP QAT (the effective public health practice project for quality assessment tool) for quantitative studies. Only studies of moderate and strong quality were included. 

We analyzed 11 studies with a sample of 2495 older people. The significance of therapeutic effects on elderly insomnia had a strong influence with a P of 0.05 and Cohen’s kappa of 0.80 in four studies. We identified 11 articles that found complementary therapies appropriate and recommended in reducing insomnia in older adults, including Tai Chi, cognitive behavior therapy, lavender aroma, and digital cognitive therapy. The results of the insomnia score were more than 50% positive changes, without adverse effects, including improvement in sleep efficiency (57%), total sleep time (60%), and insomnia rating scale score (75%).

The application of complementary therapy has put forward alternative treatments for older adults to reduce insomnia problems, improve their quality of life, and enhance the qualifications of nurses in other applied fields.