Emotional Well-being, Nursing Students, Sleep Quality
Conditions
Keywords
Nursing Students, Sleep Quality, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) application on stress, anxiety, and sleep quality in nursing students. The nursing education process can cause high levels of psychological and physiological stress in students due to many factors such as a heavy theoretical knowledge load, clinical practice stress, exam anxiety, and shift work. This situation results in increased anxiety and impaired sleep quality, thereby negatively affecting students' academic performance, clinical skills, and overall well-being. In this context, the study aims to evaluate whether EFT, as a complementary method, is effective in reducing stress and anxiety levels in nursing students, as well as improving sleep quality. It is believed that the results of this research will contribute to the development of alternative approaches that support psychological well-being in nursing education and will provide evidence-based data on the integration of EFT into educational programs.
Detailed description
The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) application on stress, anxiety, and sleep quality in nursing students. The nursing education process can cause high levels of psychological and physiological stress in students due to many factors such as a heavy theoretical knowledge load, clinical practice stress, exam anxiety, and shift work. This situation results in increased anxiety and impaired sleep quality, thereby negatively affecting students' academic performance, clinical skills, and overall well-being. In this context, the study aims to evaluate whether EFT, as a complementary method, is effective in reducing stress and anxiety levels in nursing students, as well as improving sleep quality. It is believed that the results of this research will contribute to the development of alternative approaches that support psychological well-being in nursing education and will provide evidence-based data on the integration of EFT into educational programs. Existing studies on EFT applications for nursing students show promising results in reducing exam/academic anxiety and general stress levels; for example, some pre-post and small controlled studies have reported decreases in both stress and exam anxiety (Patterson, 2016; Vural, 2019). However, these studies have limitations such as sample size, use of comparison groups, and lack of long-term follow-up; therefore, the number of RCT (randomized controlled trial) studies with strong methodological design in the nursing student population is still limited. Sleep quality is a strong determinant of both cognitive functioning and mood in students; when stress and anxiety levels are impaired, sleep quality can deteriorate, and conversely, improved sleep can contribute to a reduction in psychological symptoms. Studies investigating the direct effect of EFT on sleep quality are also increasing: studies conducted in various age groups and clinical populations report that EFT can improve sleep parameters or provide subjective sleep quality improvement, while some studies report mixed effect sizes or heterogeneous results in group comparisons (Souilm et al., 2022; Kalroozi et al., 2022; Özcan, 2025).
Interventions
BEHAVIORALEmotional Freedom Techniques
Emotional Freedom Techniques
OTHERPLESEBO
PLESEBO
Sponsors
Hasan Kalyoncu University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
The sample for this study consisted of individuals who volunteered to participate in the research from among the students enrolled in the Nursing Department of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Muş Alparslan University during the 2025-2026 academic year. Simple random sampling was used to select the sample for the study. Students who met the participation criteria and agreed to participate in the study were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups from among all students in the population.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 24 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Currently enrolled in the Nursing Department at Muş Alparslan University, * Be 18 years of age or older, * Agree to participate in the study voluntarily, * Have no psychiatric diagnosis or regular use of psychotropic medication.
Exclusion criteria
Students who do not regularly participate in the application process, * Students who do not complete the data collection forms in full, * Students who report physical or psychological discomfort during the EFT application process.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Perceived Stress Levels from Baseline to Week 8 Measured by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) | UP TO 8 WEEKS | Baseline and Week 8 (after completion of intervention) |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Subjective Sleep Duration from Baseline to Week 8 as Reported by Participants | UP TO 8 WEEKS | Baseline and Week 8 (after completion of intervention) |
Contacts
Primary ContactLeyla sezgin, lecturer
Outcome results
None listed