Using Pranayama and Deep Breathing Exercises to Reduce Cancer-Related Fatigue and Insomnia During Radiotherapy: A Randomized Controlled Study

Abstract

Background: Patients receiving radiotherapy often experience cancer-related fatigue and insomnia. These experiences negatively affect patients’ physiological and psychological well-being. The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of pranayama and deep breathing exercise in reducing fatigue and insomnia in patients receiving radiotherapy due to breast cancer.Materials and methods: This randomized controlled interventional study was carried out with 60 patients divided into the pranayama (20), deep breathing exercise (20) and control group (20). Data were collected with the Piper Fatigue Scale (PFS), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS).Results: While patient fatigue in the control group significantly increased during the treatment process (p<0.05), the deep breathing exercise group (p<0.05) did not experience the same increase in fatigue. The post-treatment insomnia VAS score of the pranayama and deep breathing exercise groups decreased compared to the pre-treatment scores (p<0.05). In the group comparison of PSQI scale scores, the subdimensions subjective sleep quality and daytime dysfunction were negatively affected at the end of the treatment in the control group (p<0.05) and the subdimension subjective sleep quality was positively affected in the deep breathing exercise group (p<0.05).Conclusion: Pranayama and deep breathing exercises are effective in reducing fatigue and insomnia in patients receiving radiotherapy due to breast cancer.

Reducing Sleep Disturbance by Using Slow Deep Breathing and Dhikr in Cancer Patients During Chemotherapy

“…This study showed that SDB and dhikr have a significant effect on sleep disturbance. This is by the study conducted by Gündogdu and Koçaşlı (2021), which proved that respiratory therapy has an effect on sleep disturbance in cancer patients experiencing chemotherapy. Mulhaeriah et al (2018), which examined the effectiveness of Relaxation Breathing Exercises (RBE) on fatigue FIMA 58 in cancer patients experiencing chemotherapy, stated that performing RBE 4 times a day for 7 days was more effective in alleviating fatigue than conducting RBE 2 times a day for 7 days.…”