Effect of Passive Music Therapy on Sleep Quality in Elderly Nursing Home Residents

Abstract

Objectives: This one-group, pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study was conducted among elderly nursing home residents to determine their quality of sleep and the effect of passive music therapy given at bedtime on sleep quality. Methods: The study comprised 31 people aged 64-91 years. Exclusion criteria were severe hearing impairment or memory problems. Inclusion criteria were the ability to answer questions unassisted and no dosage change in current medicines during the study period. Data were collected at the beginning of the research study and after three weeks of passive music therapy using a questionnaire and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Data were evaluated using numbers, percentages, averages, paired t-test, Mann-Whitney U-test, and Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: The study found that the average age of the elderly subjects was 81.0 +/- 8.49 years; before passive music therapy was initiated, their PSQI score was 5.19 +/- 1.75, and after passive music therapy, it was 4.41 +/- 1.60. According to these results, subsequent passive music therapy lowered average PSQI scores significantly (p=0.03). Conclusion: The study found that passive music therapy given at bedtime to elderly subjects has positive effects on the quality of sleep.