Abstract
BACKGROUND: Progressive relaxation exercises involve systematically tensing and relaxing all muscle groups in the body to achieve relaxation. Progressive relaxation exercises may be beneficial for individuals with various chronic conditions, including diabetes, by effectively reducing fatigue levels. METHOD: This study was conducted to examine the effects of progressive relaxation exercises on fatigue levels and sleep problems in individuals with type 2 diabetes. It is an experimental study conducted in a randomized controlled pretest/posttest design. The method of the study included the creation of an experimental group (n = 33) and a control group (n = 30) using simple randomization. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Fatigue Severity Scale, and progressive relaxation exercise videos were used for data collection. The study was a total of 63 individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes who applied to outpatient treatment and met the research criteria. In the evaluation of the data, the 'Independent Sample-t' test (with Z-table value) was used for comparing measurement values between two independent groups, and the "ANOVA" test (with F-table value) was used for comparing three or more independent groups. The 'Mann-Whitney U' test (with Z-table value) was used for comparing measurement values between two independent groups, and the 'Kruskal-Wallis H' test (with χ2-table value) was used for comparing three or more independent groups. To examine the relationship between two categorical variables, 'Pearson-χ2' cross-tables and Fisher-Exact test. After eliminating the effect of the pretest on the posttest during group comparison, ANCOVA analysis was applied to examine the differences between the groups. RESULTS: According to the research findings, a significant difference was observed in fasting and postprandial blood glucose levels between the pretest and posttest in the experimental group (p < 0.05). A decrease was observed in the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index posttest scores in the experimental group, but it was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). On the other hand, a statistically significant difference was found in the fatigue severity scale pretest-posttest scores of diabetic individuals in the experimental group (Z = -4.718; p = 0.000). CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that progressive relaxation exercises can be utilized in the elimination of fatigue and sleep problems in diabetic individuals. TRAIL REGISTRATION: NCT05893784.