Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is one of the main causes of mortality throughout the world, which is caused by defects in insulin secretion or function. Sleep loss can be both one of the complications of and risk factors for diabetes. Moreover, sleep impairment can lead to increased risk of diabetes and mortality in these patients. Complementary medicine, such as acupressure, is the most common non-pharmaceutical method of dealing with sleep loss. Regarding this, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of acupressure on sleep quality in the patients with diabetes mellitus.

Materials and Method: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 40 patients referred to the Diabetes Clinic in Zabol, Iran, using a single group and pre-post test design. The study population was selected through the purposive sampling method. After filling out the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the patients received the intervention for four weeks. The sleep quality index was competed again post-intervention. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS version 22.

Results: According to the results, the mean sleep quality score was 8.19±3.92 before the intervention, which was indicative of the poor quality of sleep in the participants. However, this value decreased to 2.15±4.17 at the post-intervention stage, which represented the improvement of sleep quality in the patients. The results demonstrated that the sleep quality score was significantly different in the patients between the pre- and post-intervention stages (P>0.05).

Conclusion: As the findings of the present study indicated, acupressure in Shen Men point could improve the sleep quality in the diabetic patients. Considering the prevalence and complications of sleep loss in the diabetic patients, it is recommended to use acupressure as a non-pharmaceutical intervention for the management of sleep disorders in these patients.