The impact of guided mental imagery on the sleep quality of the elderly after having heart attack

Abstract

Background: There are numerous factors such as cardiovascular diseases which cause sleep problems for the elderly. Relaxation is one of the components of cognitive behavioral therapy which refers to the practice of relaxation solutions to improve the sleep quality. Objectives: This paper aims to examine the impact of guided mental imagery on the sleep quality of the elderly after having heart attack. Patients and Methods: This study is considered to be a two-group random clinical trial that was carried out on sixty elderly patients suffering heart attack who have been discharged with sleep problems from selected teaching hospitals of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Participants were placed in intervention and control groups through random allocation method. Two training sessions of calm making and guided imagery protocols were applied to the intervention group. The sleep quality in research units was examined before and after the intervention using Pittsburgh sleep quality questionnaire. Data analysis was carried out by the statistical software SPSS version 16 through paired and independent t-tests. Results: The mean sleep quality score in the intervention group was significantly lower after intervention (2.6 +/- 2.3) (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the mean of changes in sleep quality score after intervention was significantly greater in the case group (-7.9 +/- 2.3) compared to the control group (-2.9 +/- 2.2) (P < 0.001). Conclusion: The guided mental imagery program was found to be effective in improving the sleep quality of the elderly suffering heart attack. The guided mental imagery is, therefore, recommended to be considered as a part of rehabilitation care for the elderly having heart attack with sleep disorders.