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Document Type

Abstract

Publication Date

12-1-2024

Abstract

Objectives: Sleep disorders affect at least one-third of the population and are more common in women, with about 40 to 55% of pre- and post-menopausal women experiencing sleep disorders. Sleep disorders are also strongly associated with cardiovascular disease, making it imperative to improve them. Exercise has been reported to improve insomnia and reduce sleep latency and hypnosis medications. Current research indicates that the effects of exercise on sleep quality and insomnia are controversial. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the effect of exercise on sleep quality in adult women.

Method: Literature was searched up to 15 October 2023 in 7 databases (CNKI, VIP, Wanfang, CBM, PubMed, The Cochrane library, Embase) for RCTs assessing the effects of exercise and non-exercise control conditions on sleep quality, sleep disorders and/or insomnia in adult women. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was used as the outcome indicator. Meta-analyses were conducted using random effects models. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software after screening, data extraction, quality assessment and risk assessment of the included literature. Effects on outcomes were expressed as standardized mean differences (SMD) and their 95% confidence interval (CI).

Result: A total of 16 papers were included for meta-analysis. The results of the meta-analysis showed that exercise significantly improved sleep quality (SMD = -0.42, 95% CI [-0.50, -0.35], P < 0.001), sleep latency (SMD = -0.44, 95% CI [-0.55, -0.33], P < 0.001), sleep duration (SMD = -0.45, 95% CI [-0.59, -0.32], P < 0.001), sleep efficiency (SMD = -0.19, 95% CI [-0.26, -0.12], P < 0.001), sleep disturbances (SMD = -0.92, 95% CI [-1.42, -0.43], P < 0.001), use of sleep medication (SMD = -0.16, 95% CI [-0.28, -0.03], P < 0.02), and daytime dysfunction (SMD = -0.39, 95% CI [-0.51, -0.26], P < 0.001), and statistically significant differences in adult females when compared to the control group.

Discussion and Conclusion: Previous studies have shown that 12–16 weeks of exercise improves sleep, whereas the present study reveals that just 4 weeks of exercise significantly improves sleep in women. Although this study demonstrated the effectiveness of exercise for sleep disorders, too few original studies were included to categorize them based on exercise type and exercise intensity. In the future, further research is necessary to find more appropriate exercise programs for women with sleep disorders. The present study affirmed the role of exercise in improving sleep in women and provided a basis for improving sleep disorders, reducing cardiovascular risk, and improving quality of life.

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