Exercise training improves sleep quality in middle-aged and older adults with sleep problems: a systematic review.

By Pei-Yu Yang, Ka-Hou Ho, Hsi-Chung Chen, M. Chien. Journal of Physiotherapy, 2012

597 citations recorded by the source corpus.

QUESTION Does an exercise training program improve the quality of sleep in middle-aged and older adults with sleep problems? DESIGN Systematic review with meta-analysis of randomised trials. PARTICIPANTS Adults aged over 40 years with sleep problems. INTERVENTION A formal exercise training program consisting of either aerobic or resistance exercise. OUTCOME MEASURES Self-reported sleep quality or polysomnography. RESULTS Six trials were eligible for inclusion and provided data on 305 participants (241 female). Each of the studies examined an exercise training program that consisted of either moderate intensity aerobic exercise or high intensity resistance exercise. The duration of most of the training programs was between 10 and 16 weeks. All of the studies used the self-reported Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index to assess sleep quality. Compared to the control group, the participants who were randomised to an exercise program had a better global Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score, with a standardised mean difference (SMD) of 0.47 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.86). The exercise group also had significantly reduced sleep latency (SMD 0.58, 95% CI 0.08 to 1.08), and medication use (SMD 0.44, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.74). However, the groups did not differ significantly in sleep duration, sleep efficiency, sleep disturbance, or daytime functioning. CONCLUSION Participation in an exercise training program has moderately positive effects on sleep quality in middle-aged and older adults. Physical exercise could be an alternative or complementary approach to existing therapies for sleep problems.

Subfields: Epidemiology, Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, Physiology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/e5580bedf6778fc22d9b992562517d0161edd1e5

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Citations in the corpus

Conclusions about Interventions, Programs, and Approaches for Improving Executive Functions that appear Justified and those that, despite much hype, do not (2015, background): “Exercise reduces stress and depressive feelings (Carmack et al., 1999; Haslacher et al., 2015; Williamson et al., 2001) and improves sleep (Chen et al., 2015; Wachob and Lorenzi, 2015; Yang et al., 2012).”
The effects of physical activity on sleep: a meta-analytic review (2015, background): “Our results extend Yang et al. (2012) findings regarding the effect of regular exercise on sleep quality in older individuals with sleep complaints to a wider age range of individuals with and without sleep complaints.”