The Effect of Progressive Relaxation Exercise on Sleep Quality in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

Diabetes is among the diseases known as non-communicable or chronic diseases that occur as a result of the pancreas not producing enough insulin or the body's inability to use the insulin it produces and increasing the costs of care all over the world. Worldwide, 537 million adults live with diabetes, and Type 2 Diabetes is the most common type of diabetes worldwide, accounting for approximately 90% of all diabetes cases. According to the Diabetes Epidemiological Study in Turkey data (TURDEP-I and II), the prevalence of diabetes increased from 7.2% to 13.7%. While there is a globally agreed target to halt the increase in diabetes by 2025, both the number of cases and the prevalence of diabetes continue to rise steadily over the past few decades. It is estimated that the total number of individuals with diabetes will increase to 643 million by 2030 and to 784 million by 2045. Counseling and health education are among the key components of diabetes management. Diabetes management consists of drug therapy, self-management, medical nutrition therapy, exercise and education parameters, and sleep disorders are ignored in diabetes management. diabetes association recently included sleep as a behavior to watch among adults living with diabetes in its 2019 and 2020 standards of care. Sleep; It is a periodic process in which physical activities are at the lowest level and the level of consciousness shows reversible changes. Sleep quality, which is one of the most important aspects of sleep; It is a complex phenomenon that is difficult to define and measure objectively. Sleep quality; It includes quantitative aspects of sleep such as sleep latency, duration of sleep, and the number of awakenings per night, and more subjective aspects such as sleep depth and restfulness. Sleep; It includes a multidimensional regeneration process, including physiological, psychological and social. For this reason, it is affected by positive/negative changes in the dimensions it covers. The slightest disruption to sleep patterns has definite and direct effects on daily life and general health. Therefore; stay healthy; Sleep is necessary to renew and repair systems such as neurological and muscle systems. Inadequate sleep quality can lead to impaired cognition, and sleep quality is an important aspect of life. Sleep disturbance or poor sleep quality is higher in individuals with chronic disease. Sleep disturbance in diabetes is associated with higher HbA1c levels and chronic diseases such as diabetes reduce sleep quality and regularity; It is known to cause sleep disorders. Individuals with uncontrolled diabetes often wake up sweating at night or due to nocturia. Controlling blood sugar with dietary changes, exercise, and medications can reduce sleep problems. Night movements or pain caused by the presence of neuropathy in the patient may also negatively affect sleep quality.Especially in Type 2 Diabetes cases, sleep problems are common. Having a chronic illness like Type 2 Diabetes can have an impact on sleep quality and rate alone. Sleep deprivation is a risk factor for impaired glucose tolerance, patients with diabetes have low sleep quality, there is a significant relationship between diabetes and sleep quality, and people with Type 2 Diabetes have poor sleep quality. Studies have determined that the probability of developing impaired fasting blood glucose in individuals is 6 times higher than in individuals who sleep an average of 6-8 hours at night and have good sleep quality. According to the report of the "American Academy of Sleep Medicine" center, the development or worsening of diabetes with sleep deprivation and sleep disorder there is a link between them. There are metabolic syndrome components such as hyperinsulinemia, central obesity, glucose intolerance in "Obstructive Sleep Apnea" which is a kind of sleep disorder. It is stated in the publications that "Obstructive Sleep Apnea" causes the development of diabetes by disrupting the glucose metabolism. Obstructive sleep apnea, short sleep duration, shift work, and insomnia are all associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes and may have worse outcomes for those with existing diabetes. Complementary and integrated applications such as progressive relaxation exercise, which is one of the cognitive behavioral techniques, have been frequently used in research in the field of nursing, due to its effects such as relatively relieving tension and anxiety in skeletal muscles, facilitating the transition to sleep and helping to reduce sleep problems.

Progressive relaxation is a method that provides relaxation throughout the body by regular voluntary and successive contraction and relaxation of large muscle groups in the human body. Purpose of progressive relaxation exercises; It is based on feeling the difference between tension and looseness in the body and learning to relax in our daily life. This method, which is applied in the form of stretching and relaxing the muscles, allows the patients to learn where their muscles are, what they are in the moment of tension, and the difference when the tension disappears. Benefits of progressive muscle relaxation in diabetes; It improves metabolic control, lowers blood sugar, lowers catecholamines and autonomic nerve activity. After relaxation, the patient will feel relaxed and relaxed, progressive relaxation body; will be able to make the mind calm and relaxed. Relaxation improves blood circulation, increases the secretion of endorphins and decreases the secretion of adrenal hormones, reduces stress and anxiety after the emergence of a positive attitude due to increased brain function, and facilitates sleep. Progressive relaxation exercises are a skill that can be taught by nurses and learned in both inpatient and outpatient settings that include the nurse's role as educator, caregiver, role model and patient advocate, and is included in the Classification of Nursing Interventions (NIC). Nurses' use of high-level nursing practices, such as training patients with relaxation exercises, improves the patient's self-management skills and provides symptom control. Despite the differences in progressive muscle relaxation methods, studies have shown that progressive muscle relaxation has important results in improving sleep quality in individuals with chronic diseases. In this respect, it is predicted that progressive relaxation exercise may give positive results on sleep quality in individuals with diabetes.