Emotional Well-beingEmotionalNCT07331376
EFT and Resilience in Nursing Students
A study testing Emotional Freedom Techniques and PLESEBO in people with Emotional Well-being and Sleep Quality, run by Hasan Kalyoncu University.
Trial summary
The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) application on stress, anxiety, and sleep quality in nursing students. The nursing education process can cause high levels of psychological and physiological stress in students due to many factors such as a heavy theoretical… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 24 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Emotional Well-being, Sleep Quality, Nursing Students
- What is being tested?
- Emotional Freedom Techniques and PLESEBO
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 105 participants
- Where
- No sites listed yet
- Study dates
- 22 Dec 2025to 20 Jun 2026
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
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 24 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- Currently enrolled in the Nursing Department at Muş Alparslan University,
- Be 18 years of age or older,
- Agree to participate in the study voluntarily,
- Have no psychiatric diagnosis or regular use of psychotropic medication.
Who cannot join
- Students who do not regularly participate in the application process,
- Students who do not complete the data collection forms in full,
- Students who report physical or psychological discomfort during the EFT application process.
Trial locations and contacts
No sites are listed yet. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
About this study
Official title: Improving Perceived Stress, Anxiety, and Sleep Quality Among Nursing Students: Enhancing Resilience Through Emotional Freedom Techniques
The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) application on stress, anxiety, and sleep quality in nursing students.
The nursing education process can cause high levels of psychological and physiological stress in students due to many factors such as a heavy theoretical knowledge load, clinical practice stress, exam anxiety, and shift work. This situation results in increased anxiety and impaired sleep quality, thereby negatively affecting students' academic performance, clinical skills, and overall well-being.
Read more
In this context, the study aims to evaluate whether EFT, as a complementary method, is effective in reducing stress and anxiety levels in nursing students, as well as improving sleep quality.
It is believed that the results of this research will contribute to the development of alternative approaches that support psychological well-being in nursing education and will provide evidence-based data on the integration of EFT into educational programs.
Read the detailed description
The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) application on stress, anxiety, and sleep quality in nursing students.
The nursing education process can cause high levels of psychological and physiological stress in students due to many factors such as a heavy theoretical knowledge load, clinical practice stress, exam anxiety, and shift work. This situation results in increased anxiety and impaired sleep quality, thereby negatively affecting students' academic performance, clinical skills, and overall well-being.
In this context, the study aims to evaluate whether EFT, as a complementary method, is effective in reducing stress and anxiety levels in nursing students, as well as improving sleep quality.
It is believed that the results of this research will contribute to the development of alternative approaches that support psychological well-being in nursing education and will provide evidence-based data on the integration of EFT into educational programs.
Existing studies on EFT applications for nursing students show promising results in reducing exam/academic anxiety and general stress levels; for example, some pre-post and small controlled studies have reported decreases in both stress and exam anxiety (Patterson, 2016; Vural, 2019). However, these studies have limitations such as sample size, use of comparison groups, and lack of long-term follow-up; therefore, the number of RCT (randomized controlled trial) studies with strong methodological design in the nursing student population is still limited.
Sleep quality is a strong determinant of both cognitive functioning and mood in students; when stress and anxiety levels are impaired, sleep quality can deteriorate, and conversely, improved sleep can contribute to a reduction in psychological symptoms. Studies investigating the direct effect of EFT on sleep quality are also increasing: studies conducted in various age groups and clinical populations report that EFT can improve sleep parameters or provide subjective sleep quality improvement, while some studies report mixed effect sizes or heterogeneous results in group comparisons (Souilm et al., 2022; Kalroozi et al., 2022; Özcan, 2025).
- Conditions
- Emotional Well-being, Sleep Quality, Nursing Students
- Being tested
- Emotional Freedom Techniques, PLESEBO
- Keywords
- Nursing Students, Sleep Quality, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)
- Medical subject headings
- Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Emotional Freedom TechniquesBehavioural
Emotional Freedom Techniques
PLESEBOOther
PLESEBO
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Intervention Group | Experimental | This arm applies Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) to nursing students to reduce stress- and anxiety-related sleep disturbances and to improve sleep quality, duration, and restorative function.
Participants receive EFT sessions twice weekly for 8 weeks (45 minutes per session) conducted by a certified EFT trainer or a qualified mental health nurse in a quiet, well-ventilated classroom or counseling room.
Each session follows a structured sequence:
Opening and awareness (grounding): Participants describe their current emotional and sleep-related state.
SUDS assessment (pre-test): Participants rate discomfort levels regarding sleep difficulty on a 0-10 scale.
EFT tapping sequence: Guided, sleep-focused tapping targeting stress, anxiety, and sleep concerns.
Reflection and closing: Participants discuss emotional changes and relaxation effects post-intervention.
The EFT intervention is designed to enhance psychological resilience, promote emotional regulation, and improve overall sl Receives: Behavioral: Emotional Freedom Techniques |
| Sham Emotional Freedom Techniques (Active Placebo Control Group) | Placebo comparator | This arm involves an active placebo (sham) intervention designed to control for the non-specific effects of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) such as attention, touch, and expectation of benefit.
The procedure mimics the structure and appearance of genuine EFT sessions but omits its core therapeutic components-specifically, tapping on energy meridian points and the use of emotionally focused affirmations. The goal is to provide a credible comparison condition that elicits similar expectations of stress and sleep improvement while lacking the specific EFT mechanisms.
Intervention Details:
Purpose: To simulate the general relaxation and expectancy effects of EFT without including its specific active therapeutic elements.
Total Duration: 8 weeks Session Frequency: 2 sessions per week Session Length: Approximately 45 minutes per session Setting: Quiet, comfortable classroom or consultation room Practitioner: Same instructor as in the genuine EFT group to maintain consistency Receives: Other: PLESEBO |
| Objectives of the Control Group | No intervention | Isolating the Effect of the Intervention The control group helps determine whether observed improvements in perceived stress, anxiety, and sleep quality result specifically from the EFT intervention, rather than from external factors such as the passage of time, habituation, or natural recovery. Distinguishing the Placebo Effect In psychosocial and behavioral interventions, non-specific factors-such as receiving attention from a practitioner, participating in a structured activity, and the psychological expectation of improvement ("I will get better")-can independently produce beneficial outcomes. The control group is used to account for and measure these placebo-related effects.Demonstrating the Natural Process In the absence of an active therapeutic intervention, the control group allows observation of how perceived stress, anxiety levels, and sleep quality naturally fluctuate or change over time. |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Change in Perceived Stress Levels from Baseline to Week 8 Measured by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)
Baseline and Week 8 (after completion of intervention)
Measured: UP TO 8 WEEKS
Secondary outcomes (1)
Change in Subjective Sleep Duration from Baseline to Week 8 as Reported by Participants
Baseline and Week 8 (after completion of intervention)
Measured: UP TO 8 WEEKS
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted9 Jan 2026
- Study start22 Dec 2025 (estimated)
- Primary completion20 Jun 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion20 Jun 2026 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Emotional Well-beingStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- 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
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- The sample for this study consisted of individuals who volunteered to participate in the research from among the students enrolled in the Nursing Department of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Muş Alparslan University during the 2025-2026 academic year. Simple random sampling was used to select the sample for the study. Students who met the participation criteria and agreed to participate in the study were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups from among all students in the population.
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 105 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Hasan Kalyoncu University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Leyla SEZGİN, Muş Alparslan University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07331376
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 07.11.2025-218893
- Acronym
- Emotional
- Status last verified
- Dec 2025
- First submitted
- 17 Dec 2025
- Last updated
- 9 Jan 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- 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 9 Jan 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Improving Perceived Stress, Anxiety, and Sleep Quality Among Nursing Students: Enhancing Resilience Through Emotional Freedom Techniques
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07331376
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- Emotional / 07.11.2025-218893
- Conditions
- Emotional Well-being, Sleep Quality, Nursing Students
- Keywords
- Nursing Students, Sleep Quality, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Not yet recruiting
- Enrolment
- 105 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Hasan Kalyoncu UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 22 Dec 2025 (estimated)
- Primary completion
- 20 Jun 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 20 Jun 2026 (estimated)
- First posted
- 9 Jan 2026 (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.
The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) application on stress, anxiety, and sleep quality in nursing students.
The nursing education process can cause high levels of psychological and physiological stress in students due to many factors such as a heavy theoretical knowledge load, clinical practice stress, exam anxiety, and shift work. This situation results in increased anxiety and impaired sleep quality, thereby negatively affecting students' academic performance, clinical skills, and overall well-being.
In this context, the study aims to evaluate whether EFT, as a complementary method, is effective in reducing stress and anxiety levels in nursing students, as well as improving sleep quality.
It is believed that the results of this research will contribute to the development of alternative approaches that support psychological well-being in nursing education and will provide evidence-based data on the integration of EFT into educational programs.
Detailed description
The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) application on stress, anxiety, and sleep quality in nursing students.
The nursing education process can cause high levels of psychological and physiological stress in students due to many factors such as a heavy theoretical knowledge load, clinical practice stress, exam anxiety, and shift work. This situation results in increased anxiety and impaired sleep quality, thereby negatively affecting students' academic performance, clinical skills, and overall well-being.
In this context, the study aims to evaluate whether EFT, as a complementary method, is effective in reducing stress and anxiety levels in nursing students, as well as improving sleep quality.
It is believed that the results of this research will contribute to the development of alternative approaches that support psychological well-being in nursing education and will provide evidence-based data on the integration of EFT into educational programs.
Existing studies on EFT applications for nursing students show promising results in reducing exam/academic anxiety and general stress levels; for example, some pre-post and small controlled studies have reported decreases in both stress and exam anxiety (Patterson, 2016; Vural, 2019). However, these studies have limitations such as sample size, use of comparison groups, and lack of long-term follow-up; therefore, the number of RCT (randomized controlled trial) studies with strong methodological design in the nursing student population is still limited.
Sleep quality is a strong determinant of both cognitive functioning and mood in students; when stress and anxiety levels are impaired, sleep quality can deteriorate, and conversely, improved sleep can contribute to a reduction in psychological symptoms. Studies investigating the direct effect of EFT on sleep quality are also increasing: studies conducted in various age groups and clinical populations report that EFT can improve sleep parameters or provide subjective sleep quality improvement, while some studies report mixed effect sizes or heterogeneous results in group comparisons (Souilm et al., 2022; Kalroozi et al., 2022; Özcan, 2025).
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 3
- Model description
- The sample for this study consisted of individuals who volunteered to participate in the research from among the students enrolled in the Nursing Department of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Muş Alparslan University during the 2025-2026 academic year. Simple random sampling was used to select the sample for the study. Students who met the participation criteria and agreed to participate in the study were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups from among all students in the population.
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Intervention Group | Experimental | Behavioral: Emotional Freedom TechniquesThis arm applies Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) to nursing students to reduce stress- and anxiety-related sleep disturbances and to improve sleep quality, duration, and restorative function. Participants receive EFT sessions twice weekly for 8 weeks (45 minutes per session) conducted by a certified EFT trainer or a qualified mental health nurse in a quiet, well-ventilated classroom or counseling room. Each session follows a structured sequence: Opening and awareness (grounding): Participants describe their current emotional and sleep-related state. SUDS assessment (pre-test): Participants rate discomfort levels regarding sleep difficulty on a 0-10 scale. EFT tapping sequence: Guided, sleep-focused tapping targeting stress, anxiety, and sleep concerns. Reflection and closing: Participants discuss emotional changes and relaxation effects post-intervention. The EFT intervention is designed to enhance psychological resilience, promote emotional regulation, and improve overall sl |
| Sham Emotional Freedom Techniques (Active Placebo Control Group) | Placebo comparator | Other: PLESEBOThis arm involves an active placebo (sham) intervention designed to control for the non-specific effects of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) such as attention, touch, and expectation of benefit. The procedure mimics the structure and appearance of genuine EFT sessions but omits its core therapeutic components-specifically, tapping on energy meridian points and the use of emotionally focused affirmations. The goal is to provide a credible comparison condition that elicits similar expectations of stress and sleep improvement while lacking the specific EFT mechanisms. Intervention Details: Purpose: To simulate the general relaxation and expectancy effects of EFT without including its specific active therapeutic elements. Total Duration: 8 weeks Session Frequency: 2 sessions per week Session Length: Approximately 45 minutes per session Setting: Quiet, comfortable classroom or consultation room Practitioner: Same instructor as in the genuine EFT group to maintain consistency |
| Objectives of the Control Group | No intervention | –Isolating the Effect of the Intervention The control group helps determine whether observed improvements in perceived stress, anxiety, and sleep quality result specifically from the EFT intervention, rather than from external factors such as the passage of time, habituation, or natural recovery. Distinguishing the Placebo Effect In psychosocial and behavioral interventions, non-specific factors-such as receiving attention from a practitioner, participating in a structured activity, and the psychological expectation of improvement ("I will get better")-can independently produce beneficial outcomes. The control group is used to account for and measure these placebo-related effects.Demonstrating the Natural Process In the absence of an active therapeutic intervention, the control group allows observation of how perceived stress, anxiety levels, and sleep quality naturally fluctuate or change over time. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 24 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Currently enrolled in the Nursing Department at Muş Alparslan University,
- Be 18 years of age or older,
- Agree to participate in the study voluntarily,
- Have no psychiatric diagnosis or regular use of psychotropic medication.
Key exclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Students who do not regularly participate in the application process,
- Students who do not complete the data collection forms in full,
- Students who report physical or psychological discomfort during the EFT application process.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Emotional Freedom TechniquesEmotional Freedom Techniques | Behavioural | Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Intervention Group |
| PLESEBOPLESEBO | Other | Sham Emotional Freedom Techniques (Active Placebo Control Group) |
Primary outcome
Change in Perceived Stress Levels from Baseline to Week 8 Measured by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)
Time frame: UP TO 8 WEEKS
Baseline and Week 8 (after completion of intervention)
1 secondary outcome
Change in Subjective Sleep Duration from Baseline to Week 8 as Reported by Participants
Time frame: UP TO 8 WEEKS
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 9 Jan 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.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Emotional Freedom Techniques and PLESEBO in people with Emotional Well-being and Sleep Quality, run by Hasan Kalyoncu University.
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 4 inclusion and 3 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: opening soon, as of the sponsor's last update on 9 Jan 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
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?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Leyla sezgin, lecturer (+905384567396, leyla.sezgin@alparslan.edu.tr), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Change in Perceived Stress Levels from Baseline to Week 8 Measured by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) (time frame: UP TO 8 WEEKS). 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 9 Jan 2026.