Progressive Relaxation Exercises and Sleep, Anxiety and Stress in Risky Pregnants

January 15, 2026 updated by: Zehra ÇERÇER, Cukurova University

The Effect of Progressive Relaxation Exercises on Sleep Quality, Anxiety and Stress Levels in Risky Pregnants

This study was planned as a randomized controlled quasi-experimental study to determine the effect of progressive relaxation exercises on sleep quality, anxiety and stress levels in risky pregnant women. "Personal Information Form", "Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PUKI)" to measure the sleep quality of pregnant women, "Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale" to determine the anxiety levels of pregnants, "Pregnancy Stress Scale" to determine the perceived stress level of pregnants, which were created by the researchers in the direction of the literature in data collection. Evaluation Scale".The universe of the research, T.C. It will consist of pregnant women who are hospitalized with the diagnosis of risky pregnancy in the Ministry of Health Adana City Training and Research Hospital Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinics. The sample size was determined as 15 patients to compare the means between the two groups. With an expected dropout rate of 10% and to ensure the adequacy of the final sample size, 17 patients were selected per group.Relaxation exercises are easy to apply, economical, safe and effective non-pharmacological applications that can be used independently by nurses and midwives. By ensuring the management of risky pregnancies, it will support the protection and development of public health by ensuring the protection of both women and fetus health.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study was planned as a randomized controlled quasi-experimental study to determine the effect of progressive relaxation exercises on sleep quality, anxiety and stress levels in risky pregnant women.

H1-1: There is a significant difference between the sleep quality posttest total score averages.

H1-2: There is a significant difference between the anxiety level posttest total score averages.

H1-3: There is a significant difference between the stress level posttest total score averages.

The universe of the research, T.C. It will consist of pregnant women who are hospitalized with the diagnosis of risky pregnancy in the Ministry of Health Adana City Training and Research Hospital Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinics. "Personal Information Form", "Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PUKI)" to measure the sleep quality of pregnant women, "Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale" to determine the anxiety levels of pregnants, "Pregnancy Stress Scale" to determine the perceived stress level of pregnants, which were created by the researchers in the direction of the literature in data collection. Evaluation Scale".Intervention Group The pregnant women who were diagnosed with a risky pregnancy, admitted to the clinic and met the research participation criteria will be informed about the study by the researchers, and verbal and written consents of the pregnant women who accepted to participate in the study will be obtained and the study will begin.

Personal information form, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PUKI), Prenatal Anxiety Screening Scale and Pregnancy Stress Rating Scale will be applied to the pregnant women at the first interview. Afterwards, the researcher will first give training on progressive relaxation exercises to the patient in the patient's room. Afterwards, the Relaxation Exercises CD will be played and the exercises will be performed with the patient along with the CD. A relaxation exercise program will be installed on the patients' phones via the Whatsapp application. It is planned that the trainings will be applied to the patients one-to-one and will last an average of 40-45 minutes for each patient.

After these trainings are completed, a booklet will be given to the patients that will contribute to the correct practice of relaxation exercises on their own. Patients will be asked to practice relaxation exercises by listening to the programs downloaded to their phones at least three times a week for 4 weeks. Researchers will follow the patients over the phone for 4 weeks.

In the final test phase; Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PUKI), Prenatal Anxiety Screening Scale and Pregnancy Stress Rating Scale will be re-administered 4 weeks after the start of exercise practices.

Control Group In the control group, pregnant women who meet the research participation criteria will be informed about the study by the researchers, verbal and written consents of the pregnant women who accepted to participate in the study will be obtained and data collection will begin.

The control group will receive routine nursing care in the clinic and no intervention will be made to this group. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PUKI), Prenatal Anxiety Screening Scale and Pregnancy Stress Rating Scale will be applied at the first interview.

In the post-test phase, 4 weeks after the start of the first interview, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PUKI), Prenatal Anxiety Screening Scale and Pregnancy Stress Rating Scale will be administered again.

In order to prevent the pregnant women in the control group from being affected by the pregnant women in the intervention group, pregnant women in different rooms will be selected for the intervention and control group.Progressive relaxation exercises are a non-pharmacological method that can be easily applied by both nurses and pregnant women in the management of life-threatening risky pregnancies for maternal and fetal health. Improving the sleep quality of pregnant women, reducing perceived stress and anxiety levels will increase their quality of life. By ensuring the management of risky pregnancies, it will support the protection and development of public health by ensuring the protection of both women and fetus health. The work done in this area is limited. At the end of the study, it is thought that it will contribute to the literature.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

30

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

15 years and older (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • At least primary school graduate,
  • No communication problem,
  • Not having any psychiatric disease,
  • Diagnosed with a risky pregnancy for at least one month,
  • In the last trimester of pregnancy,
  • Having a smart phone,
  • Internet access

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pregnant women diagnosed with restless legs syndrome during treatment and follow-up,
  • Women who gave birth before the end of the study.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention group: Progressive relaxation exercises

Afterwards, the researcher will first give training on progressive relaxation exercises to the patient in the patient's room. A relaxation exercise program will be installed on the patients' phones via the Whatsapp application. It is planned that the trainings will be applied to the patients one-to-one and will last an average of 40-45 minutes for each patient.

After these trainings are completed, a booklet will be given to the patients that will contribute to the correct practice of relaxation exercises on their own. Patients will be asked to practice relaxation exercises by listening to the programs downloaded to their phones at least three times a week for 4 weeks.

In the final test phase; Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PUKI), Prenatal Anxiety Screening Scale and Pregnancy Stress Rating Scale will be re-administered 4 weeks after the start of exercise practices.
Behavioral: Progressive relaxation exercises
Personal information form, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PUKI), Prenatal Anxiety Screening Scale and Pregnancy Stress Rating Scale will be applied to the pregnant women at the first interview. Afterwards, the researcher will first give training on progressive relaxation exercises to the patient in the patient's room. Afterwards, the Relaxation Exercises CD will be played and the exercises will be performed with the patient along with the CD. A relaxation exercise program will be installed on the patients' phones via the Whatsapp application. It is planned that the trainings will be applied to the patients one-to-one and will last an average of 40-45 minutes for each patient.
No Intervention: No Intervention: Standard care group
Standard care group.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PUKI)
Time Frame: change in sleep quality at four weeks
It was developed by Buysse et al. in 1989 (Buysse et al., 1989). The Turkish validity and reliability study of the scale was conducted by Ağargün et al. (1996) and the Cronbach Alpha internal consistency coefficient was found to be 0.80.A total score higher than 5 indicates poor sleep quality .
change in sleep quality at four weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Prenatal Anxiety Screening Scale
Time Frame: change in anxiety level at four weeks
It was developed by Somerville et al. in 2013 and validated and reliable in 2019 by Yazıcı et al. The scale consists of 31 items. The four sub-dimensions of the scale are: (1) acute anxiety and adjustment disorder, (2) general anxiety and specific fears, (3) perfectionism, control and trauma, and (4) social anxiety. Cronbach Alpha was found to be 0.95. The cut-off point on the original scale was calculated as 26, minimum anxiety symptoms 0-20, mild-moderate 21-41, and severe anxiety 42-93
change in anxiety level at four weeks

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pregnancy Stress Rating Scale (GSDS-36)
Time Frame: change in stress level at four weeks
The Turkish validity and reliability of the Pregnancy Stress Rating Scale-36 developed by Chung-Hey Chen (2015) was performed by Akın in 2018. It is interpreted that the higher the total score obtained from the scale, the higher the stress. In the validity and reliability study of the scale, the Cronbach Alpa value of GSDS-36 was found to be 0.92
change in stress level at four weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Cukurova University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Zehra ÇERÇER, PhD, Çukurova University
  • Study Director: Evşen NAZİK, Prof. Dr., Çukurova University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

August 18, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 21, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

December 30, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 18, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 18, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

August 19, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

January 16, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 15, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 34

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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