Content area
Full Text
The aim of the present study was to investigate the combined effect of reiki and acupressure on insomnia and depression in female sufferers. The sample was consisted of 40 female subjects of age group 30-45 years with high scores on symptoms of insomnia and depression. Subjects were randomly selected on the basis of scores of selfdeveloped 'Insomnia Scale' and 'Amritsar Depression Inventory'. The selected subjects were randomly assigned to two groups of experimental (20 Ss) and control group (20 Ss) having more or less equal variance of insomnia and depression scores. The reiki healing and acupressure was applied twice a week for 10 weeks on experimental group. Data was collected before and after the treatment from both groups. Obtained data were analyzed through mean and ANCOVA. The results show that the reiki and acupressure together were significantly effective methods in reducing insomnia and depression symptoms in female sufferers.
Keywords: reiki, acupressure, insomnia, depression
Insomnia is a complex and common disorder in the modem population of human being. According to previous studies, it affects anywhere from 10% to 34% of the population. Insomnia includes the complaints of disturbed sleep in the presence of adequate opportunity and circumstance for sleep. It has two types, they are Primary insomnia which is not associated with another identifiable disease and secondary insomnia which is associated with another disease or disorder. Recent studies suggest that insomnia has complex relationships with several co-morbid diseases like depression. Not only this, the chronic insomnia predicts various diseases like brain degeneration, neurological disorders, depression, psychiatric disorders, hypertensions, aging and vulnerability to infectitious diseases (Suka et al., 2003; Stepanski & Rybarczyk, 2006).
The causes of insomnia are related to daily life stress to neurochemical disturbances. Neurologists have suggested the melatonin is a CNS depressant which has significant role in influencing sleep function in human brain and it was also related to depression as well. The pattem of melatonin secretion over a 24-hour period is widely accepted as a measure of circadian activity in humans. This pattem is disrupted in insomnia. Compared to normal patients, those with insomnia have suppressed nocturnal outputs of melatonin and are more likely to have histories of depression (Kripke & Elliot et al., 1998; Rosenthal, 1991; Lewy et al., 1989). Another...