In industrial wireless control and monitoring applications, wireless sensor and actuator (WSAN) nodes are usually deployed at field, thus, stringent requirements for the nodes� battery life-time are demanded. This is to extend continuous servicing period of field instruments. Recent related works have proposed several communication approaches to improve overall battery�s life-time by reducing the nodes� power consumption. However, in the case of wireless control systems for process plants, the importance of communication superframe needs to be considered. Therefore, this paper describes an adaptive superframe approach taking into consideration of the process� response and characteristics to improve the nodes� life-time. From the simulation results obtained, significant saving (up to approximately 50) on energy consumption can be achieved. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd 2021.