The Effect of Hot and Cold Water Applications on Restless Legs Syndrome Complaints and Sleep Quality of Pregnant Women: A Randomized Controlled Study.

ABSTRACT

Background: Pregnant women experience restless legs syndrome and intervention studies are needed to prevent this. This study evaluated the effect of hot and cold water applications on the severity of restless leg syndrome and sleep quality in pregnant women. Methods: It is a randomized controlled trial. The subjects comprised 80 (hot water group = 26, cold water group = 27, control group = 27) pregnant women. Pregnant women in intervention groups applied hot or cold water to their legs before going to bed for seven days. The control group did not do any application other than routine care. The data were collected with the Restless Legs Syndrome Diagnostic Form, Personal Information Form, Restless Leg Syndrome Severity Grading Scale, The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Application Satisfaction Form, and Post-Application Follow-up Chart. Results: While the Restless Legs Syndrome Severity Grading Scale and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index pre-test scores of the groups were similar (P > .05), the post-test scores were lower in the intervention groups than in the control group (P < .001). The effect of the applications started on the second day and the level of satisfaction with the application was similarly high in both groups (P < .05). During the follow-up, the syndrome severity scores of both the intervention groups were similar (P > .05), while the sleep quality of the cold group was better (P < .05) and most of the pregnant women did not need reapplication and they were satisfied with the application (P < .05). Conclusion: These safe interventions reduced the severity of restless legs syndrome in pregnant women and improved the quality of their sleep. Nurses can use these applications in pregnancy care, which begin to show effect in as little as two days.