Evaluation of the effect of jaw relaxation on sleep quality in patients with myocardial infarction

Background: Poor sleep quality is one of the most common problems in patients with myocardial infarction, significantly affecting their quality of life. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of jaw relaxation on sleep quality in patients with myocardial infarction.

Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on patients with myocardial infarction referring to the hospitals in Saveh, Iran in 2015. In total, 68 patients were selected through purposive sampling and randomly allocated to two groups of intervention and control. In the intervention group, the samples practiced jaw relaxation techniques in the form of five 20-minute sessions a day for a month. On the other hand, samples in the control group only received routine care. Data were collected using demographic questionnaires and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) before and one month after the intervention. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 19 using Fisher's exact test, Chi-square, and paired and independent t-test.

Results: In this study, mean scores of sleep quality before the intervention were 14.52±1.39 and 14.32±1.29 in the intervention and control groups, respectively. After the intervention, these scores were 12.38±1.49 and 14.02±2.4, respectively (P≤0.001). According to results of independent t-test, a significant difference was observed between the groups in this regard (P≤0.001).

Conclusion: According to the results of this study, application of jaw relaxation techniques contributed to improved sleep quality in patients with myocardial infarction. Therefore, it is recommended that this method be used as a non-pharmacological approach due to its simplicity and cost-effectiveness.