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Efficacy of hydrotherapy, spa therapy, and balneotherapy on sleep quality: a systematic review

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Abstract

The purpose of this article was to review and assess the results obtained from human studies on the effects of hydrotherapy, balneotherapy, and spa therapy on sleep disorders. In this study, databases such as Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Cochrane, Scopus, and sciences direct database were searched from the beginning to September 2022. All human studies that examined the effect of hydrotherapy, balneotherapy, and spa therapy on sleep disorders were published in the form of a full article in English. In the end, only 18 of the 189 articles met the criteria for analysis. Most studies have shown that balneotherapy, spa therapy, and hydrotherapy may by affecting some hormones such as histamine, serotonin, sympathetic nerves, and regulating body temperature led to increased quality and quantity of sleep. Also, the results obtained from Downs and Black show that 3 studies were rated as very good, 7 studies as good, 7 studies as fair, and 1 study as weak. The results of studies also showed that hydrotherapy leads to an improvement in the PSQI score index. Nevertheless, more clinical trials are needed to determine the mechanism of action of hydrotherapy on sleep disorders.

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The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Ardabil University of Medical Sciences for their support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Traditional Medicine and Hydrotherapy Research Center, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran

    Arezoo Moini Jazani, Hamidreza Nasimi Doost Azgomi, Alireza Nasimi Doost Azgomi, Mohammad Hossein Ayati & Ramin Nasimi Doost Azgomi

  2. Students Research Committee, School of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran

    Hamidreza Nasimi Doost Azgomi & Alireza Nasimi Doost Azgomi

  3. Departman of Medical History, School of Traditional Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Mohammad Hossein Ayati

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  1. Arezoo Moini Jazani
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The authors’ responsibilities were as follows: R.N.D.A and A.M.J wrote the original paper. M.H.A, A.R.N.D.A, and H.R.N.D.A contributed to data collection; provided advice and consultation; and contributed to the final revision of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ramin Nasimi Doost Azgomi.

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Moini Jazani, A., Nasimi Doost Azgomi, H., Nasimi Doost Azgomi, A. et al. Efficacy of hydrotherapy, spa therapy, and balneotherapy on sleep quality: a systematic review. Int J Biometeorol 67, 975–991 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-023-02471-x

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