Menopause
Conditions
Keywords
Laughter Yoga, Menopause, Menopausal Symptoms, Sleep Quality, Quality of Life, Non-Pharmacological Intervention, Women's Health, Menopausal Women
Brief summary
This study aims to provide meaningful contributions to both academic literature and clinical nursing practice by examining laughter yoga, a non-pharmacological, evidence-based, and feasible intervention for quality of life and sleep problems commonly encountered during menopause. Menopause is a natural stage of life that can be associated with physical and psychological symptoms affecting daily life. Laughter yoga, a group-based complementary method, is based on the philosophy that "movement creates emotion" and aims to transform voluntary laughter into natural and genuine laughter over time. Laughter yoga consists of clapping and warm-up exercises, childlike games, deep breathing techniques, laughter exercises, and meditation stages. Thanks to its physiological and psychological effects, it supports individuals' overall well-being. In this study, participants will be divided into two groups: an intervention group and a control group. A pre-test will be administered to both groups to assess menopause symptoms, sleep quality, and quality of life. The intervention group will undergo eight sessions of laughter yoga, while the control group will not receive any intervention during the study period. A post-test will be administered to both groups after the intervention to evaluate its effectiveness. The results of the study are expected to contribute to determining whether laughter yoga is an effective supportive approach during menopause. It is particularly important in terms of establishing a scientific basis for the integration of complementary treatment approaches into the menopause period and ensuring that they can be integrated with nursing care.
Detailed description
This study is designed as a controlled trial involving women in the menopause period, with participants individually randomized using a simple randomization method. The study will be conducted at a family health center affiliated with the Mamak Cultural Center Coordination in Ankara, Turkey. Eligible participants will be randomly assigned to either the laughter yoga intervention group or the control group at a 1:1 ratio using a computer-generated randomization sequence. Following the pre-test, the intervention group will receive a total of eight laughter yoga sessions over four weeks, twice a week. No intervention will be administered to the control group during the study period. Menopause symptoms, sleep quality, and menopause-specific quality of life will be assessed using pre-test and post-test measurements. This study aims to determine the effect of laughter yoga on changes experienced during menopause and on sleep and quality of life.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALLaughter Yoga
The intervention consists of a total of 8 laughter yoga sessions, with 2 sessions per week for four weeks. Each laughter yoga session is planned to last an average of 20 minutes. Each session will begin with clapping and warm-up exercises and continue with childlike games, deep breathing exercises, and laughter exercises. It will end with meditation. It is a group-based practice, and the aim is to increase psychosocial well-being by transforming fake laughter into real laughter and to benefit from the physiological effects of laughter.
Sponsors
Saglik Bilimleri Universitesi
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Masking description
Participants will not know which group they belong to. Laughter yoga will be administered to the experimental group on the day of the final test. By having both groups receive laughter yoga, participants will be prevented from knowing which group they belong to, thereby reducing the possibility of bias.
Intervention model description
Participants will be randomly assigned to two groups: the intervention group and the control group. A pre-test will be conducted to assess menopause symptoms, sleep quality, and quality of life. While the intervention group will receive eight sessions of laughter yoga, the control group will not receive any intervention during the study period. A final test will be conducted in both groups to assess changes in menopause symptoms, sleep quality, and quality of life. After the final assessments are completed, the control group will also receive the laughter yoga intervention.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Being in the menopause period * Having sufficient proficiency in understanding and expressing oneself in Turkish * Agreeing to participate in the study * Having physical and cognitive competence * Not having a diagnosis of mental disorder * Not using hormone therapy or complementary treatments for menopause symptoms
Exclusion criteria
* Not participating in laughter yoga sessions * Withdrawing from the study during the research phase * Incomplete filling out of data collection forms * Having contraindications for laughter yoga (Bleeding hemorrhoids, psychiatric disorders, epilepsy, undergoing surgery within the last 3 months, and similar conditions)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Menopausal Symptoms | Baseline and immediately after the 4-week intervention | Menopause symptoms will be assessed using the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS). Changes in total MRS scores from baseline to post-intervention will be compared between the intervention group and the control group. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Sleep Quality | Baseline and immediately after the 4-week intervention | Sleep quality will be assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Changes in PSQI scores at baseline and after the 4-week intervention will be compared between groups. |
| Change in Menopause-Specific Quality of Life | Baseline and immediately after the 4-week intervention | Quality of life will be assessed using the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MENQOL). Changes in MENQOL scores at baseline and after the 4-week intervention will be compared between the intervention and control groups. |
Countries
Turkey (Türkiye)
Contacts
CONTACTDerya UZUNCA, BSc, RN
CONTACTProf. Dr. Gülten Güvenç, PhD
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORProf.Dr. Gülten Güvenç, PhD
Saglik Bilimleri Universitesi
Outcome results
None listed