Effects of Benson's relaxation technique on sleep quality of patients with cardiovascular diseases: A narrative review

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) counts at the forefront of death causes and has become a significant global issue due to its high prevalence rate. The Benson's relaxation technique (BRT) can benefit general health conditions in CVD patients. However, there is still controversy over the efficacy of BRT on sleep quality improvement. This narrative review aims to summarize the evaluation of the effects of BRT on sleep quality of patients with CVD. This narrative review was conducted via online databases, such as PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus and Google Scholar search engine. Published articles were included in the search from the first until September ۱۰, ۲۰۲۳. Additionally, the bibliographies of pertinent publications were looked up. These databases were searched using a strategy string that combined free text keywords with Medical Subject Heading phrases. The search terms for "cardiovascular disease" with synonyms AND "quality of sleep" with synonyms were combined with search terms for "Benson's relaxation technique". English-language published articles that matched the inclusion criteria were evaluated and included. The study results showed BRT can increase the sleep quality of patients in terms of mental sleep quality, sleep onset delay, useful sleep, sleep disorders, and overall sleep quality. To further increase the sleep of patients after open heart surgery, the BRT is recommended as a complementary method in addition to drug therapy. BRT increases sleep quality in patients with CVD. Therefore, this method can be used as a suitable complementary treatment to improve the sleep quality of these patients.

Keywords:

Cardiovascular disease , Cardiac Event , Quality of sleep , Benson Relaxation Technique