Effects of traditional Chinese medicine nursing techniques combined with music-based interventions on sleep in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

By
Yupeng He
Yingcong Liu
Junlin He
Shan Zhu
Zhenhua Guo
June 11, 2026
0 min

Frontiers In Psychiatry

Objective:

To systematically evaluate the effects of traditional Chinese medicine nursing techniques combined with music-based interventions on sleep quality in older adults, while also exploring their effects on anxiety and pain as secondary outcomes.

Key Findings:

The combined intervention significantly improved sleep quality (PSQI: MD = -2.28, 95% CI: -3.07 to -1.48).
The intervention was associated with greater reductions in anxiety (SAS: MD = -9.95, 95% CI: -14.31 to -5.59) and pain (VAS: MD = -1.06, 95% CI: -1.57 to -0.54).
Auricular acupressure combined with music-based interventions showed the most stable effect on sleep quality (MD = -1.89, 95% CI: -2.55 to -1.23).
Interventions lasting 15 days or longer were associated with lower heterogeneity and more stable effects.

Interpretation:

Traditional Chinese medicine nursing techniques combined with music-based interventions may improve sleep quality in older adults and help reduce anxiety and pain.

Limitations:

Variability in intervention components, including types of traditional Chinese medicine techniques, music selection, intervention frequency, and treatment duration, may affect the generalizability of the results.

Conclusion:

Different combined approaches showed favorable effects, with auricular acupressure combined with music-based interventions demonstrating the most stable results. These findings contribute to the existing literature on non-pharmacological interventions for sleep quality in older adults.