The Effect of Reiki Application on Pain, Fatigue and Sleep Quality in Elderly Persons Staying in Nursing Homes

The Effect of Reiki Application on Pain, Fatigue and Sleep Quality in Elderly Persons Staying in Nursing Homes

A person's life is a stage that passes in the time interval that ends with his birth when he opens his eyes to the world and his death when he closes his eyes to the world. Old age is a forced end for all people. Sleep is one of the most important and basic human needs. It prepares the individual for a new day by resting the body, strengthening and regulating the cerebral functions and repairing the brain. While a change in sleep pattern and quality affects a person's daily life activities, long-term persistence of this change may lead to deterioration of body and mental health.During Reiki practices, the hands are held in each position for 3-5 minutes by touching the head, neck, chest, abdominal cavity and groin. In problem areas, this time can be extended to 10-20 minutes. The duration of treatment lasts an average of 30-90 minutes. During the application, the person is in a lying or lying position and does not need to take off his clothes.

In the elderly, the pathology of fatigue has not yet been fully elucidated. Natural changes and the disadvantages of age can be the cause of fatigue. Decrease in muscle strength, sarcopenia, pain, inactivity, changes in body composition due to malnutrition, decrease in physical fitness, insufficient energy systems, cardiovascular and respiratory problems, medications used can cause fatigue in the elderly. It has been shown that 27-50% of the elderly suffer from moderate to severe fatigue. Increasing the severity of fatigue reduces the daily activity performance of the elderly (6). Today, in many areas, in addition to medical treatment to reduce the symptoms of chronic diseases, alternative and complementary medicine are also used. Reiki, which constitutes our research subject; one of the energy approaches, in Japan at the end of the 19th century, Dr. It is a complementary medicine application discovered by Usui in Sanskrit inscriptions, which has been shown to be effective on pain, depression, insomnia and fatigue symptoms. Reiki is generally safe and no serious side effects have been reported. Reiki practice in the last 10 years; it increases among physicians, nurses and other health workers.

Inclusion Criteria:

• • Being a nursing home resident and being 50 years or older,

  • Not having a communication problem,
  • Not having been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or other mental illness,
  • Not taking antidepressant treatment,
  • Having chronic pain (arthralgia, back pain, musculoskeletal pain - at least once a day),
  • Not using a pain reliever all the time,
  • Willingness to participate in a four-week reiki program,
  • Not having received body-mind therapy (yoga, reiki, massage, meditation) in the last six months.
  • Having a scale score of >5 on the Piper Fatigue Scale
  • A score of >5 on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Scale
  • A scale score of >5 on the Visual Analog Scale

Exclusion Criteria:

• Needing antidepressant treatment,
• Not getting bored with work and not wanting to answer questions.

Exclusion Criteria:

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