Home exercise improves the quality of sleep and daytime sleepiness of elderlies: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

BackgroundAging causes physiological changes which affect the quality of sleep. Supervised physical exercise is an important therapeutic resource to improve the sleep of the elderlies, however there is a low adherence to those type of programs, so it is necessary to implement an exercise program which is feasible and effective. The study aimed to test the hypothesis that a semi-supervised home exercise program, improves sleep quality and daytime sleepiness of elderlies of the community who present poor sleep quality.MethodsThis was a randomized controlled trial study, conducted from May to September 2017, in Northeastern Brazil, with elderlies of the community aging 60 years old or older, sedentary, with lower scores or equal to 5 at the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and without cognitive decline. From one hundred ninety-one potential participants twenty-eight refused to participate, therefore, one hundred thirty-one (mean age 68 ± 7 years), and 88% female, were randomly assigned to an intervention group - IG (home exercise and sleep hygiene, n = 65) and a control group - CG (sleep hygiene only, n = 66). Sleep assessment tools were used: PSQI, Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) and clinical questionnaire of Berlin. The level of physical activity has been assessed by means of International Physical Activity Questionnaire adapted for the elderly (IPAQ) and Mini-Mental State Examination for cognitive decline. All participants were assessed before and after the 12-week intervention period and, also, the assessors were blind.ResultsThe IG showed significant improvement in quality of sleep with a mean reduction of 4.9 ± 2.7 points in the overall PSQI (p < 0.01) and in all its 7 components of evaluation (p < 0.05), and improvement of secondary endpoint, daytime sleepiness, a decline of 2.8 ± 2.2 points in the ESS (p < 0.01).ConclusionOur results suggest that semi-supervised home exercise is effective in improving the quality of sleep and self-referred daytime sleepiness of sedentary elderlies of the community who presented sleep disorders.Trial registrationEnsaiosclinicos.gov.br process number: RBR-3cqzfy.

Effects of Whole-Body Vibration Exercises on Parameters Related to the Sleep Quality in Metabolic Syndrome Individuals: A Clinical Trial Study

“…The findings of the current work have verified that the sleep quality was not altered when the Berlin Questionnaire was used. This result agrees with Brandão et al [53] who have reported that home exercise does not alter the risk to OSA when the same questionnaire was used.…”

“…Furthermore, Reid et al [52] have verified that moderate aerobic PE improved the sleep quality of sedentary adults considering the PSQI and the ESS. Brandão et al [53] have reported that home exercise improves the quality of sleep and daytime sleepiness of elderlies considering, respectively, the PSQI and the ESS.…”

Effects of Exercise on Sleep Quality and Insomnia in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

“…Total duration of exercise programs ranged from 2 to 12 months with respective frequency and length of sessions. Of these 22 articles, subjective sleep quality was assessed in 14 studies with the PSQI scale, in four studied with the ISI scale ( 20 , 25 , 27 , 43 ), and in two studies with the ESS scale ( 28 , 33 ). Six studies evaluated physiological sleep conditions by the use of Actigraphy ( 27 – 29 , 35 , 39 , 41 ).…”

Sleep disorders among educationally active elderly people in Bialystok, Poland: a cross-sectional study

“…In a study conducted by Brandão et al [43], in a group of 131 elderly, the average ESS point value was 8.6 ± 2.8. In another study by Brandão et al [44], 40 seniors (30.5%) reported excessive daytime sleepiness as measured by the ESS, while the average ESS score in the study group was 8.32 ± 2.2 points, which is not an indication of excessive daytime sleepiness, similar to other studies [45, 46].…”