Moderate- and high-intensity resistance exercise programs had equally beneficial effects on cognitive functioning.

Aging causes several physiological alterations, including alterations in sleep. It is possible that difficulty sleeping can be exacerbated by increased inflammation in older individuals. Moderate exercise training may be a modality of non-pharmacological treatment for sleep disorders and inflammation. We aimed to assess the effects of moderate exercise training on sleep in elderly people as well as their cytokine profiles. Additionally, we examined the effect of exercise training on quality of life parameters using a SF-36 questionnaire. Twenty-two male, sedentary, healthy, elderly volunteers performed moderate training for 60 min/day, 3 days/week for 24 week at a work rate equivalent to their ventilatory aerobic threshold. The environment was kept at a temperature of 23 ± 2°C, with a humidity of 60 ± 5%. Blood and polysomnograph were collected twice: at baseline (1 week before training began) and after 6 months of training. Training increased aerobic capacity parameters (p<0.0001), decreased REM latency (p<0.02), and decreased time awake (p<0.05). After training, the levels of IL-6 (p<0.0001) and TNF-α (p<0.0001) and the ratio of TNF-α/IL-10 (p<0.0001) were decreased, whereas IL-10 levels were increased after training (p<0.001). Furthermore, exercise training was shown to improve quality of life parameters. Our results suggest that 6 months of training can improve sleep in the elderly and is related to the anti-inflammatory effect of moderate training, which modifies cytokine profiles.

Aging and physical inactivity are two factors that favors the development of cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, obesity, diabetes, and sleep dysfunction. In contrast, the adoption a habitual of moderate exercise may present a non-pharmacological treatment alternative for sleep and metabolic disorders. We aimed to assess the effects of moderate exercise training on sleep quality and on the metabolic profile of elderly people with a sedentary lifestyle. Fourteen male sedentary, healthy, elderly volunteers performed moderate training for 60 minutes/day, 3 days/week for 24 wk at a work rate equivalent to the ventilatory aerobic threshold. The environment was kept at a temperature of 23 ± 2°C, with an air humidity 60 ± 5%. Blood and polysomnographs analysis were collected 3 times: at baseline (1 week before training began), 3 and 6 months (after 3 and 6 months of training). Training promoted increasing aerobic capacity (relative VO2, time and velocity to VO2max; p < 0.05), and reduced serum NEFA, and insulin concentrations as well as improved HOMA index (p < 0.05), and increased adiponectin levels (p < 0.05), after 3 months of training when compared with baseline data. The sleep parameters, awake time and REM sleep latency were decreased after 6 months exercise training (p < 0.05) in relation baseline values. Our results demonstrate that the moderate exercise training protocol improves the sleep profile in older people, but the metabolism adaptation does not persist. Suggesting that this population requires training strategy modifications as to ensure consistent alterations regarding metabolism.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of a session of resistance training on the sleep patterns of elderly people. Forty men aged 65-80 years who were sedentary and clinically healthy were divided into two groups: the control group (n = 18) and the resistance group (n = 22). Both groups underwent two polysomnography tests, one at baseline and another after either a resistance training session (the resistance group) or no physical exercise (the control group). The resistance training session was based on 60% of one repetition maximum (a test that assesses the maximum force). We observed that the frequency with which the control group awoke (arousal index) increased from 16.29 ± 6.06 events/h to 20.09 ± 6.9 events/h, and in the resistance group, it decreased from 22.27 ± 11 events/h to 20.41 ± 8.57 events/h (t = 2.10 and p = 0.04). For stage-1 sleep, there was an increase from 4.96% at baseline to 5.40% in the control group, and there was a decrease in the resistance group from 8.32 to 6.21% after the exercise session (t = 2.12 and p = 0.04). A session of resistance training at 60% of one repetition maximum was able to modify the sleep pattern in men aged 65-80 years, suggesting that physical exercise has a modest influence on sleep consolidation.