Better Subjective Sleep Quality Partly Explains the Association Between Self-Reported Physical Activity and Better Cognitive Function

Cheval, Boris; Maltagliati, Silvio; Sieber, Stefan; Cullati, Stéphane; Zou, Liye; Ihle, Andreas; Kramer, Arthur F.; Yu, Qian; Sander, David; Boisgontier, Matthieu P.

doi:10.3233/jad-215484

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 117 publications

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“…In contrast to previous research ( Wilckens et al, 2018 ; Cheval et al, 2022 ), we observed very little change in sleep and cognition from our exercise intervention, indicating there was not a mediating (indirect) effect. These results may be due to the lack of effect of exercise on sleep (“a” pathway, Figure 2 ), as we did observe associations between sleep and cognition (“b” pathway, Figure 2 ).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…Results from cross-sectional studies indicate self-reported and objectively measured sleep may partially explain the association between physical activity and cognition ( Wilckens et al, 2018 ; Cheval et al, 2022 ). However, another observational study showed no mediating effect of self-reported sleep quality on the association between self-reported physical activity and global cognition ( Yuan et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The effect of acute exercise on objectively measured sleep and cognition in older adults

Sewell,

Smith,

Rainey-Smith

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

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BackgroundExercise can improve cognition in aging, however it is unclear how exercise influences cognition, and sleep may partially explain this association. The current study aimed to investigate whether objectively measured sleep mediates the effect of an acute exercise intervention on cognition in older adults.MethodsParticipants were 30 cognitively unimpaired, physically active older adults (69.2 ± 4.3 years) with poor sleep (determined via self-report). After a triple baseline cognitive assessment to account for any natural fluctuation in cognitive performance, participants completed either a single bout of 20-minutes of high intensity exercise on a cycle ergometer, or a control condition, in a cross-over trial design. Cognition was measured immediately post-intervention and the following day, and sleep (total sleep time, sleep onset latency, sleep efficiency, % of rapid eye movement sleep, light sleep and deep sleep) was characterized using WatchPAT™ at baseline (5 nights) and measured for one night after both exercise and control conditions.ResultsResults showed no effect of the exercise intervention on cognition immediately post-intervention, nor an effect of acute exercise on any sleep variable. There was no mediating effect of sleep on associations between exercise and cognition. However, a change from baseline to post-intervention in light sleep and deep sleep did predict change in episodic memory at the ~24 h post-intervention cognitive assessment, regardless of intervention condition.DiscussionThere was no effect of acute high intensity exercise on sleep or cognition in the current study. However, results suggest that associations between sleep and cognition may exist independently of exercise in our sample. Further research is required, and such studies may aid in informing the most effective lifestyle interventions for cognitive health.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of acute exercise on objectively measured sleep and cognition in older adults

Sewell,

Smith,

Rainey-Smith

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

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“…Better sleep quality has been a mediator for the effects of physical activity on cognitive function [30]. In this sample from the European Longitudinal Study on Aging (N =86,541), better subjective sleep quality partially explained the association between self-reported physical activity and cognitive function.…”

Section: Cognitive Effectsmentioning

confidence: 85%

Sleep Problems in Aging (Ageing) Adults: A Narrative Review

2023

Int J Geriatr Gerontol

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The recent literature on sleep problems in aging (ageing) adults has primarily focused on negative effects as well as risk factors, buffers, and interventions. The sleep problems have typically been self-reported or measured by actigraphy. The prevalence rates for sleep problems starting at age 60 have been variable, ranging from a low of 18% in the UK to a high of 50% in China, a variability that may relate to the type of sleep data and/or cross-cultural variation. Psychological effects have included dissatisfaction with life, unhealthy aging and affective/depressive mood states. Physical effects have included elevated blood pressure, impaired functionality, frailty, comorbidity and immune dysfunction. Cognitive impairment has also resulted from sleep problems, and aging brain biomarkers have included shorter telomere length, reduced gray matter volume and earlier mortality. Psychological risk factors have included meta-cognitive beliefs, worrying, loneliness, poor relationships and depression. Physical risk factors have included inactivity, napping and comorbidity. Buffers/protective factors have included retirement, light exercise, consumption of vegetables and melatonin as a sleep medication. Only a couple interventions could be found in this recent literature on sleep in aging adults including Cognitive Behavior Therapy and exercise. A few potential underlying mechanisms for disturbed sleep in aging adults include decreased vagal activity, increased connectivity in the brain making disconnecting for sleep difficult, inflammation and orexins. Although the data highlight the severity of sleep problems in the aging, they have been primarily based on self-report surveys that have yielded mixed results across samples. Sleep Problems in Aging (Ageing) Adults: A Narrative ReviewThis narrative review involved entering the terms sleep and aging (ageing) into PubMed and PsycINFO. The search yielded 735 papers for the last five years. However, following exclusion criteria including case studies and non-English language papers, this review is a summary of the research reported in 67 papers. The recent literature is predominantly focused on negative effects of sleep problems along with studies on risk factors, buffers and interventions. This narrative review is accordingly divided into sections on prevalence of sleep problems in the aging, negative effects, risk factors, buffers and interventions. These are followed by sections on potential underlying mechanisms for sleep problems in the aging and methodological limitations of the research.

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“…Similarly, the question included the notion of "recent change in pattern", which might have confused participants who experienced poor sleep quality for several years. Thus, the current findings need to be confirmed using more complete measures of sleep quality and/or using devices-based measures of sleep parameters (Cheval et al, 2022). Fourth, we relied on a self-reported measure of physical activity based on two items.…”

Section: Strengths and Weaknessesmentioning

confidence: 89%

Physical inactivity amplifies the negative association between sleep quality and depressive symptoms

Cheval¹

2022

Preprint

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Poor sleep quality and physical inactivity are known risk factors for depressive symptoms. Yet, whether these factors differently contribute to depressive symptoms and whether they interact with one another remains unclear. Here, we examined how sleep quality and physical activity influence depressive symptoms in 79,274 adults 50 years of age or older (52.4% women) from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) study. Sleep quality (poor vs. good), physical activity (inactive vs. active), and depressive symptoms (0 to 12 score) were repeatedly collected (7 waves of data collection) between 2004 and 2017. Results showed that sleep quality and physical activity were associated with depressive symptoms. Specifically, participants with poorer sleep quality reported more depressive symptoms than participants with better sleep quality (b = 1.85, 95% CI = 1.83-1.86, p < .001). Likewise, compared to physically active participants, physically inactive participants reported more depressive symptoms (b = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.42-0.45, p < .001). Moreover, sleep quality and physical activity showed an interactive association with depressive symptoms (b = 0.17, 95% CI = 0.13-0.20, p < .001). The negative association between poor sleep quality and higher depressive symptoms was stronger in physically inactive than active participants. These findings suggest that, in adults 50 years of age or older, both poor sleep quality and physical inactivity are related to an increase in depressive symptoms. Moreover, the detrimental association between poor sleep quality and depressive symptoms is amplified in physically inactive individuals.

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Better Subjective Sleep Quality Partly Explains the Association Between Self-Reported Physical Activity and Better Cognitive Function

Cited by 10 publications

References 117 publications

The effect of acute exercise on objectively measured sleep and cognition in older adults

The effect of acute exercise on objectively measured sleep and cognition in older adults

Sleep Problems in Aging (Ageing) Adults: A Narrative Review

Physical inactivity amplifies the negative association between sleep quality and depressive symptoms

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