SleepNCT04923061
The Effect of Acupressure on the Sleep Quality and Fatigue
A study testing Acupressure in people with Sleep and Fatigue, run by Mersin University at 2 sites in Turkey (Türkiye).
Trial summary
This research aims to determine the effect of acupressure applied to nurses actively working in internal clinics on sleep quality and fatigue during the COVID-19 pandemic process. This research hypothesizes that acupressure improves sleep quality and reduces fatigue. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 65 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- What is being tested?
- Acupressure
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 64 participants
- Where
- 2 sitesTurkey (Türkiye)
- Study dates
- 10 Mar 2021to 30 Jun 2021
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 65 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Nurses who care for COVID 19 patients during the pandemic process
- Nurses working in internal clinics during the data collection process
- Those who have recovered from COVID 19
- Those who agreed to participate in the study
- No deformity or lesions in the areas where acupressure will be applied
- No acupressure experience
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- No sleep disorder diagnosis and no medical treatment
- Not diagnosed with anxiety disorder and not receiving medical treatment
- Not diagnosed with depression and not receiving medical treatment
- Coffee, cigarette and alcohol free
- No mental disorder
- Night shift workers
- Those who can understand and speak Turkish
- Those who signed the Informed Consent Form
Who cannot join
- Nurses who did not work in internal clinics during the data collection process
- Nurses who do not care for COVID 19 patients during the pandemic process
- Those with active COVID 19
- Those who do not agree to participate in the study
- Those who have any deformity or lesion in the areas where acupressure will be applied
- Experiences of acupressure
Show all 16Show fewer
- Heart and kidney failure, severe anemia, immunodeficiency problem
- Pregnant
- Diagnosed with sleep disorder and receiving treatment
- Anxiety disorder and treatment
- Depression diagnosed and treated
- Coffee, cigarette and alcohol addiction
- Having mental illness
- Fixed day shift workers
- Those who can not understand and speak Turkish
- Those who did not sign the Informed Consent Form
Trial locations and contacts
2 sites in 1 country.
Turkey (Türkiye)2 sites
Mersin University
Mersin, Yenişehir, 33343
Mersin University Faculty of Nursing
Mersin, Yenişehir
About this study
Official title: The Effect of Acupressure on Sleep Quality and Fatigue in Nurses Working in Internal Clinics During the COVID-19 Pandemic Process: A Randomized Controlled Study
This research aims to determine the effect of acupressure applied to nurses actively working in internal clinics on sleep quality and fatigue during the COVID-19 pandemic process. This research hypothesizes that acupressure improves sleep quality and reduces fatigue.
Read the detailed description
In this study, 64 nurses working in internal clinics were randomly assigned to acupressure and placebo (sham) acupressure groups. In the acupressure group (n=34), the heart meridian 7th point (HT7), large intestine meridian 4th point (LI4), stomach meridian 36th point (ST36) and spleen meridian 6th point (SP6) will be applied to a total of four points. Depending on the preparation and compression time on each point, the session duration of each nurse will be 20 minutes on average. In the sham group (n=34), pressure will be made approximately 1-1.5 cm away from the HT7, LI4, ST36, SP6 points. In the Sham group, the acupressure application time will take 20 minutes on average. Reminder text messages (SMS) will be sent before the application on the days when the nurses will practice, so that they continue to do the application regularly. At the end of the application, after the data collection process is completed, the sham group will be taught the correct acupressure points. Nurses will apply acupressure three times a week for a total of 12 sessions for four weeks. The primary outcome of the research is the effect of acupressure on the sleep quality of nurses. The secondary outcome of the study is to determine the effect of acupressure on fatigue. The outcomes will be collected before and four weeks after the acupressure and sham acupressure administration.
- Being tested
- Acupressure, Sham acupressure group
- Keywords
- Acupressure, Sham acupressure, Nurse, Sleep quality, Fatigue
- Medical subject headings
- Fatigue, Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
AcupressureOther
In the acupressure group, heart meridian 7th point (HT7), large intestine meridian 4th point, stomach meridian 36th point (ST36) and spleen meridian 6th point (SP6) will be applied. Tissue sensitivity will be reduced by heating and rubbing for about 20 seconds without direct pressure on the acupressure points, and the points will be ready for acupressure application. Subsequently, consecutive (breathing rhythm) compressions will be applied to the acupressure points determined by the researcher, without raising the finger, taking into account the pain threshold of the individual who is applied with the thumb, with 10 seconds of pressure for two seconds of relief Since the symmetry of the selected four different points will also be applied to the other extremity, a total of 16 minutes of compression will be applied to each point, provided that it is two minutes. Each nurse's session will be approximately 20 minutes, depending on the preparation and compression time on each point.
Sham acupressure groupOther
In the sham group, acupressure will be applied on the bone region where the meridians do not pass, approximately 1-1.5 cm away from the HT7, LI4, ST36, SP6 points. The application process will continue in the same way with acupressure group and the pressure intensity will be less.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Acupressure group | Experimental | The experimental group will apply acupressure to themselves three times a week for a total of 12 sessions for four weeks. Receives: Other: Acupressure |
| Sham acupressure group | Sham comparator | The sham group will apply acupressure to themselves three times a week for a total of 12 sessions for four weeks. Receives: Other: Sham acupressure group |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Sleep quality evaluated using the Pittsburgh Quality Sleep Index
The total scale score is in the range of 0 (minimum) -21 (maximum), and the high total Pittsburgh Quality Sleep Index (PSQI) score indicates that sleep quality is low. A total PSQI score between 0-4 indicates good sleep quality, while between 5-21 shows that sleep quality is low.
Measured: Change from before implementation and 4th week of practice.
Secondary outcomes (1)
Fatigue evaluated using the Fatigue Severity Scale
It is a Likert-type scale consisting of a total of nine items, each item being evaluated between 1 and 7 (1=I totally disagree, 7=I totally agree). The fatigue score is obtained by dividing the total score obtained from the scale by the number of scale items. The score that can be obtained from the scale varies between 9 and 63. A high score indicates an increased level of fatigue.
Measured: Change from before implementation and 4th week of practice
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted11 Jun 2021
- Study start10 Mar 2021
- Primary completion10 Mar 2021
- Study completion30 Jun 2021
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for SleepStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Mersin UniversityThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- Prospective, parallel, two-arm, randomized controlled clinical trial
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Participant
- Enrolment
- 64 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Mersin University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Esra Cavusoglu, Mersin University
- Investigators
- Meral Gun, Doctorate, Study director, Mersin University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04923061
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- MersinUniversityNursing
- Status last verified
- Sep 2026
- First submitted
- 5 Jun 2021
- Last updated
- 2 Oct 2026
- Results posted
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 2 Oct 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- The Effect of Acupressure on Sleep Quality and Fatigue in Nurses Working in Internal Clinics During the COVID-19 Pandemic Process: A Randomized Controlled Study
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04923061
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- MersinUniversityNursing
- Keywords
- Acupressure, Sham acupressure, Nurse, Sleep quality, Fatigue
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 64 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Mersin UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 10 Mar 2021 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 10 Mar 2021 (actual)
- Study completion
- 30 Jun 2021 (actual)
- First posted
- 11 Jun 2021 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This research aims to determine the effect of acupressure applied to nurses actively working in internal clinics on sleep quality and fatigue during the COVID-19 pandemic process. This research hypothesizes that acupressure improves sleep quality and reduces fatigue.
Detailed description
In this study, 64 nurses working in internal clinics were randomly assigned to acupressure and placebo (sham) acupressure groups. In the acupressure group (n=34), the heart meridian 7th point (HT7), large intestine meridian 4th point (LI4), stomach meridian 36th point (ST36) and spleen meridian 6th point (SP6) will be applied to a total of four points. Depending on the preparation and compression time on each point, the session duration of each nurse will be 20 minutes on average. In the sham group (n=34), pressure will be made approximately 1-1.5 cm away from the HT7, LI4, ST36, SP6 points. In the Sham group, the acupressure application time will take 20 minutes on average. Reminder text messages (SMS) will be sent before the application on the days when the nurses will practice, so that they continue to do the application regularly. At the end of the application, after the data collection process is completed, the sham group will be taught the correct acupressure points. Nurses will apply acupressure three times a week for a total of 12 sessions for four weeks. The primary outcome of the research is the effect of acupressure on the sleep quality of nurses. The secondary outcome of the study is to determine the effect of acupressure on fatigue. The outcomes will be collected before and four weeks after the acupressure and sham acupressure administration.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (participant)
- Number of arms
- 2
- Model description
- Prospective, parallel, two-arm, randomized controlled clinical trial
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Acupressure group | Experimental | Other: AcupressureThe experimental group will apply acupressure to themselves three times a week for a total of 12 sessions for four weeks. |
| Sham acupressure group | Sham comparator | Other: Sham acupressure groupThe sham group will apply acupressure to themselves three times a week for a total of 12 sessions for four weeks. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 65 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (14 listed)
- Nurses who care for COVID 19 patients during the pandemic process
- Nurses working in internal clinics during the data collection process
- Those who have recovered from COVID 19
- Those who agreed to participate in the study
- No deformity or lesions in the areas where acupressure will be applied
Key exclusion criteria (16 listed)
- Nurses who did not work in internal clinics during the data collection process
- Nurses who do not care for COVID 19 patients during the pandemic process
- Those with active COVID 19
- Those who do not agree to participate in the study
- Those who have any deformity or lesion in the areas where acupressure will be applied
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| AcupressureIn the acupressure group, heart meridian 7th point (HT7), large intestine meridian 4th point, stomach meridian 36th point (ST36) and spleen meridian 6th point (SP6) will be applied. Tissue sensitivity will be reduced by heating and rubbing for about 20 seconds without direct pressure on the acupressure points, and the points will be ready for acupressure application. Subsequently, consecutive (breathing rhythm) compressions will be applied to the acupressure points determined by the researcher, without raising the finger, taking into account the pain threshold of the individual who is applied with the thumb, with 10 seconds of pressure for two seconds of relief Since the symmetry of the selected four different points will also be applied to the other extremity, a total of 16 minutes of compression will be applied to each point, provided that it is two minutes. Each nurse's session will be approximately 20 minutes, depending on the preparation and compression time on each point. | Other | Acupressure group |
| Sham acupressure groupIn the sham group, acupressure will be applied on the bone region where the meridians do not pass, approximately 1-1.5 cm away from the HT7, LI4, ST36, SP6 points. The application process will continue in the same way with acupressure group and the pressure intensity will be less. | Other | Sham acupressure group |
Primary outcome
Sleep quality evaluated using the Pittsburgh Quality Sleep Index
Time frame: Change from before implementation and 4th week of practice.
The total scale score is in the range of 0 (minimum) -21 (maximum), and the high total Pittsburgh Quality Sleep Index (PSQI) score indicates that sleep quality is low. A total PSQI score between 0-4 indicates good sleep quality, while between 5-21 shows that sleep quality is low.
1 secondary outcome
Fatigue evaluated using the Fatigue Severity Scale
Time frame: Change from before implementation and 4th week of practice
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 2 Oct 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Meral Gun, Doctorate study director
Mersin University
2 sites in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Acupressure in people with Sleep and Fatigue, run by Mersin University at 2 sites in Turkey (Türkiye).
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 14 inclusion and 16 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 2 Oct 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 2 sites in Turkey (Türkiye). Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Sleep quality evaluated using the Pittsburgh Quality Sleep Index (time frame: Change from before implementation and 4th week of practice.). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 2 Oct 2026.