The effect of relaxation training on vasomotor symptoms and body difference in menopausal and post-working periods

The aim of our study was to examine the effect of relaxation training on vasomotor symptoms and body awareness in menopausal and postmenopausal periods. Women between the ages of 50 and 65 who were in the menopausal and postmenopausal periods were included in our study. Personal Information Form, Menopausal Symptoms Assessment Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Body Awareness Questionnaire and Body Perception Scale were used as data collection tools. The participants included in the study were examined in 2 groups as menopausal (interruption of the menstrual cycle for the last year) and postmenopausal (interruption of the menstrual cycle for more than 12 months). Participants in both groups were trained for 30 minutes, 3 days a week for 6 weeks. Volunteer participants were recruited from the social circle around the researcher. Measurements were performed before and after treatment. IBM SPSS Statistics 26 Program was used in the analysis of the research data. The mean age of the participants participating in the study was 53.81 (±2.757). The mean age of the participants at menopause was 51.00 (±1.473). While it was observed that there was a statistically significant difference between the sleep quality score before the relaxation training and the sleep quality score after the relaxation training of the participants in the menopausal period (p<0.001), there was a statistically significant difference between the sleep quality score of the participants in the postmenopausal period before the relaxation training and the sleep quality score after the relaxation training. no statistically significant difference was observed (p=0.070). There was a statistically significant difference between the menopausal symptoms evaluation score before the education and the menopausal symptoms evaluation score after the education of the menopausal and postmenopausal participants (p<0.001). There was a statistically significant difference between the mean body awareness score before the training and the mean body awareness score after the training of the menopausal and postmenopausal participants (p<0.001). It was observed that there was a statistically significant difference between the pre-training body image mean score and the post-training body image mean score of the menopausal and postmenopausal participants (p<0.001). Considering the results, it was concluded that relaxation training can have a positive effect on symptoms in menopausal and postmenopausal women. Considering the results of relaxation training, decrease in symptoms, improvement in sleep quality and increase in body awareness, we think that adding relaxation training to the exercise program given to women in this period is a useful method. Keywords: menopause, postmenopause, body awareness, body image.