Acupressure for Sleep, Anxiety and Stress: Evidence

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If you are thinking about harming yourself or someone else, call or text 988 in the U.S. (Suicide and Crisis Lifeline) or call 911. This page is information only. Acupressure is gentle pressing on chosen points, not a treatment for insomnia, an anxiety disorder or depression. For the basics, see acupressure.

How it is traditionally explained, and what was tested

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, points such as Heart 7 (Shenmen, HT7) are described as lying on channels that carry qi. That is a traditional framework, not a measured mechanism. The sleep review below notes that HT7 (Shenmen) was the point used in most trials. [1] Trials test whether pressing changes scores on sleep, anxiety or stress questionnaires.

Evidence by use

1. Sleep quality, adults

   Promising but limited

   A 2018 review of 32 randomized trials. Compared with sham (7 trials, 385 people), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores improved by 3.41 points on average. No adverse effects were reported. High risk of bias because people could not be blinded. [1]

2. Sleep in cancer patients

   Promising but limited

   A 2025 review of 22 trials (2,113 people) found better sleep quality than control groups right after treatment, and at 4-week follow-up the effect was smaller. [2]

3. Sleep in migraine

   No good evidence of benefit for sleep

   In a sham-controlled trial of 76 people with migraine, sleep quality did not differ between acupressure and sham, though fatigue fell more with acupressure. [3]

4. Sleep in knee osteoarthritis

   Promising but limited

   A 2026 review of self-acupressure found better sleep quality at week 8 in low-to-moderate quality evidence. [4]

5. Anxiety, general

   Promising but limited

   A 2022 review of 27 studies found acupressure reduced anxiety, but the results varied hugely between studies and caution was advised. [5]

6. Anxiety before surgery

   Promising but limited

   A 2023 review of 24 trials (2,537 adults) found a large reduction in preoperative anxiety compared with usual care or placebo. Results varied widely between trials. [6]

7. Everyday stress

   Promising but limited

   In a 159-person trial in health care workers, those given self-acupressure materials had lower perceived stress than the control group. The trial was not blinded. [7]

8. Stress with a mat

   No good evidence of benefit

   One trial found a mat no better than relaxing without one. See acupressure mats.

9. Cancer symptom cluster (pain, fatigue, sleep, depression)

   Promising but limited

   A 2025 review of 20 trials found large reductions compared with sham and usual care, with some bias concerns. [8]

What a session or program involved

In the sleep review, the trial protocols ran for several weeks. [1] In the stress trial, people received self-acupressure educational materials, and all took part remotely. [7] We do not turn those protocols into home instructions, because we did not find a source that gives a safe pressure amount for general use. Ask a qualified practitioner if you want to try it.