Effects of Benson Relaxation Exercise on Anxiety Level and Sleep Quality in Adolescents

The Effect of Benson Relaxation Exercise on Anxiety Level and Sleep Quality in Adolescents Receiving Inpatient Treatment in a Psychiatric Clinic: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of Benson relaxation exercise applied to children and adolescents receiving inpatient treatment in a psychiatric clinic on anxiety levels and sleep quality.

Design: The study is a randomized controlled trial with a pretest-posttest control group.

Method: The study will be conducted in a private psychiatric hospital in Turkey between October 2024 and June 2025. When hospital records were examined, it was determined that 100 patients received inpatient treatment in the last year. Therefore, the universe of the study consisted of 100 patients. The effect of some instructions in the Benson relaxation exercise on delusions and hallucinations is unknown. Therefore, psychosis and schizophrenia patients with delusions and hallucinations will be excluded from the scope of the study. Patients who meet the inclusion criteria will be randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups. The study will be terminated when a total of 60 patients are reached, 30 in the intervention and 30 in the control group. Benson relaxation exercise will be applied to the patients in the intervention group. No application will be made to the patients in the control group. Research data will be collected with the "State-Trait Anxiety Scale" and "Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index".

Hypotheses:

H1: The anxiety level of patients who applied Benson relaxation exercise is lower than the patients who did not.

H2: The sleep quality of patients who applied Benson relaxation exercise is better than the patients who did not.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Being treated in the child and adolescent clinic at the hospital where the study was conducted
• Being between the ages of 14-18
• Not diagnosed with psychotic disorder or schizophrenia
• Scoring between 20 and 59 on the STAI I-II scale
• Scoring 5 and above on the PSQI scale
• Being willing to participate in the study
• Parents giving verbal consent for participation in the study and signing the written voluntary consent form

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not receiving treatment in the child-adolescent clinic at the hospital where the study was conducted
• Not being between the ages of 14-18
• Being diagnosed with psychotic disorder and schizophrenia
• Not receiving a score between 20-59 on the STAI I-II scale
• Receiving a score below 5 on the PSQI scale
• Not being willing to participate in the study
• The parent not giving verbal consent for participation in the study and not signing the written voluntary consent form