Objective To explore the application effect and safety of external counterpulsation in elderly patients with sleep disorders. Methods A total of 100 advanced-age patients with sleep disorders were enrolled as the research subjects and randomly divided into an observation group or a control group, with 50 cases in each group. On the basis of routine sleep hygiene education, the observation group received external counterpulsation treatment, while the control group received alprazolam tablets, both for 14 days. The Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), and the functioning domain subscale of the Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 (QOL-C30) were used to evaluate patients' sleep quality, anxiety, depression, and quality of life, respectively. The PSQI score, SAS score, SDS score, and scores of each dimension in the functioning domain subscale of QOL-C30 before and after 14 days of treatment, as well as the total incidence of adverse reactions during treatment, were compared between the two groups. Results Before treatment, there was no statistically significant difference in PSQI score, SAS score, SDS score, or each dimension score in the functioning domain subscale of QOL-C30 between the two groups (all P>0.05). After 14 days of treatment, the PSQI, SAS, and SDS scores in the observation group were lower than those in the control group, while scores of each dimension in the functioning domain subscale of QOL-C30 were higher than those in the control group (all P<0.05). The total incidence of adverse reactions during treatment was lower in the observation group than in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion External counterpulsation can effectively improve quality of sleep and life, reduce anxiety and depression symptoms in advanced-age patients with sleep disorders, and has high safety.  

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