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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Sleep Disorders
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1404544
This article is part of the Research Topic Women in Neurology: Sleep Disorders View all 5 articles

Effects of Global Postural Re-education on Stress and Sleep Quality in Health Sciences Female Students: a Randomized Controlled Trial Pilot Study

Provisionally accepted
Manuel Rodríguez-Aragón Manuel Rodríguez-Aragón 1David Varillas-Delgado David Varillas-Delgado 1*Javier Gordo-Herrera Javier Gordo-Herrera 1Alba Fernández-Ezequiel Alba Fernández-Ezequiel 1Berta Moreno Heredero Berta Moreno Heredero 1Noelia Valle Noelia Valle 2
  • 1 Faculty of Health Sciences, Francisco de Vitoria University, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain
  • 2 Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Pozuelo, Madrid, Spain

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine, for the first time, whether the application of a self-management program with global postural re-education (GPR) influences stress and sleep quality in female health science students. Methods: In this randomized controlled trial pilot study, forty-one female health science students were randomized into a control group (n=21) and an intervention group (n=20). Participants underwent 8 weeks of self-management with and without GPR, after familiarization and therapy training. Outcomes included the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) questionnaire and cortisol levels in saliva measured with the "CORTISOL Saliva ELISA SA E-6000" kit. Sleep quality was measured with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and a Sleep Diary; total sleep time (TST), sleep onset latency (SOL), wakefulness after sleep onset (WASO), sleep efficiency (SE), and perceived sleep quality or satisfaction were assessed using the Likert scale. Results: After self-treatment with GPR, participants in the intervention group showed lower cortisol levels compared to the control group (p = 0.041). Additionally, the intervention group demonstrated statistically significant improvements in sleep quality according to their PSQI (p = 0.010), STAI (p = 0.043), SOL (p = 0.049), and SE (p = 0.002). Conclusion: This study shows that self-management through GPR helps reduce stress and improve sleep quality in female health science students.

    Keywords: cortisol, sleep quality, Students, Health Sciences, Self-treatment

    Received: 21 Mar 2024; Accepted: 25 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Rodríguez-Aragón, Varillas-Delgado, Gordo-Herrera, Fernández-Ezequiel, Moreno Heredero and Valle. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: David Varillas-Delgado, Faculty of Health Sciences, Francisco de Vitoria University, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.