Impact of Sleep Health Education on Sleep Quality Among Mothers of Infants Under One Year: A Randomized Controlled Trial

<title>Abstract</title> <p> <bold>Background</bold> : Sleep disruption is highly prevalent among mothers during the first postpartum year and is associated with adverse mental, emotional, and functional outcomes. Educational programs targeting sleep hygiene have been proposed as low-cost strategies to improve maternal sleep quality. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a sleep health education intervention on sleep quality among mothers with infants under one year of age in Tabas, Iran. <bold>Methods</bold> : A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 70 eligible mothers recruited from healthcare centers and randomly assigned to intervention (n = 35) or control (n = 35) groups. The intervention comprised four lecture-based sessions. Sleep quality was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (Buysse et al, 1989), at baseline and four weeks after the intervention. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired and independent t-tests, and regression modeling. <bold>Results</bold> : No significant differences were observed between the two groups at baseline in demographic or clinical characteristics (p &gt; 0.05). The within-group analysis revealed a slight but statistically significant increase in mean PSQI scores post-intervention (mean change = 0.33 ± 0.83, p = 0.0015), indicating a small decline in overall sleep quality. However, between-group comparisons demonstrated a significant improvement in the intervention group compared with the control group (ΔPSQI = 0.657 ± 1.08 vs. 0.00 ± 0.00; p = 0.0006; 95% CI: −1.02 to − 0.29). <bold>Conclusion</bold> : The sleep health education program led to a statistically significant improvement in sleep quality among mothers compared with the control group, although within-group changes were modest. These findings suggest that even brief, structured educational interventions can be a practical and low-cost approach to improving sleep hygiene awareness in postpartum women. Incorporating sleep health education into routine postpartum care by nurses and midwives may enhance maternal well-being and potentially improve infant outcomes. </p>