<![CDATA[Infant sleep is essential for neurological maturation, physical growth, emotional regulation, and family well-being. Touch therapy, most commonly delivered as structured infant massage, is increasingly used as a non-pharmacological strategy to support sleep; however, the strength and consistency of the available evidence require critical synthesis. This literature review evaluated the effect of touch therapy on sleep quality among infants aged 0–12 months. A structured search of Google Scholar, PubMed, and Garuda was conducted in January 2026 using terms related to infants, touch therapy or infant massage, and sleep quality. Experimental and quasi-experimental full-text studies published in English or Indonesian were screened using PICOS criteria. Six primary studies published from 2019 to 2024, involving 356 infants, were included. Two studies were randomized controlled trials, two used quasi-experimental controlled designs, and two used one-group pretest–posttest designs. Across the studies, touch therapy was associated with longer sleep duration, shorter sleep latency, fewer nocturnal awakenings, longer continuous sleep periods, and improved categorical sleep-quality scores. The strongest evidence came from controlled trials, while smaller uncontrolled studies consistently reported improvement after intervention. Nevertheless, heterogeneity in massage protocols, intervention duration, outcome instruments, and follow-up periods limits direct comparison. Touch therapy may be considered a useful supportive intervention for infant sleep when performed safely by trained caregivers, but standardized protocols and larger controlled studies are still required.]]>
