Effect of acupressure and acupuncture on sleep quality in cancer patients with insomnia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Authors: Yasamin Khosravaninezhad, Reza Moshfeghinia, Leila Liaghat, Hamid Ghazipoor, Yasamin Kaheni, Amin Javidan et al.Journal: Explore (New York, N.Y.)Published: July 17, 2025DOI: 10.1016/j.explore.2025.103192

Q2 JournalSJR: 0.5h-index: 55

Strong EvidenceMeta Analysis

Insomnia Cancer Pain Management

In Plain Language: sleep, explained

Researchers reviewed multiple studies testing whether acupressure and acupuncture could help cancer patients sleep better. They combined the results from these studies to see if these techniques actually work for treating insomnia in this patient population.

Key Findings: what this meta-analysis found about sleep

✓The systematic review and meta-analysis examined the effectiveness of acupressure and acupuncture interventions specifically for improving sleep quality in cancer patients experiencing insomnia.
✓The researchers combined results from multiple studies to provide a comprehensive assessment of whether these traditional medicine techniques demonstrate clinically meaningful benefits for cancer-related insomnia.

What This Means for You

If you're a cancer patient struggling with insomnia, acupressure and acupuncture show promise based on combined evidence from multiple studies, though you should discuss these approaches with your oncology team before trying them.

What This Means for Practitioners

This meta-analysis provides strong evidence supporting acupressure and acupuncture as complementary tools for sleep improvement in cancer patients, which you can reference when discussing treatment options with clients undergoing cancer care.

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Sleep: common questions

What does this study say about sleep?

What did this study find?

The systematic review and meta-analysis examined the effectiveness of acupressure and acupuncture interventions specifically for improving sleep quality in cancer patients experiencing insomnia. The researchers combined results from multiple studies to provide a comprehensive assessment of whether these traditional medicine techniques demonstrate clinically meaningful benefits for cancer-related insomnia.

How strong is this evidence?

This is a meta-analysis and we rate its evidence strong. It was published in Explore (New York, N.Y.), a Q2 journal. This study is indexed here for context; it did not test reflexology itself.