Meta‐analysis: Exercise intervention for sleep problems in cancer patients

Abstract

Background Sleep problems cause physical and mental distress and may influence the survival of cancer patients. Objectives This study aimed to explore the efficacy of exercise intervention to improve sleep in cancer patients. Methods Published papers from 1980 to 2018 were searched. Results The major findings included (a) exercise intervention had small positive effects on enhancing total subjective sleep quality (TSSQ; g = 0.38, 95% CI = 0.21–0.54) and objective sleep onset latency (g = 0.21, 95% CI = 0.01–0.41). (b) The characteristics in subgroups in regarding the small to large effects of an exercise programme on sleep were identified. First, the groups of a home‐based exercise and a supervised exercise combined with a home‐based exercise had a medium effect on TSSQ than the usual group. Second, interventions with aerobic exercise, especially the 4‐ to 8‐week programmes and those with weekly volume of 80–149 min per week for cancer patients with ongoing or completed treatment also had a medium to large positive effect on TSSQ. Finally, patients with breast cancer and haematologic malignancies contributed a small effect in this meta‐analysis. Conclusions Maintaining regular aerobic exercises, even of different durations and weekly volumes, benefits patient sleep quality.

Level of Exercise Influences the Severity of Fatigue, Energy Levels, and Sleep Disturbance in Oncology Outpatients Receiving Chemotherapy

“…While less well studied and often evaluated as a secondary outcome, [35][36][37][38] the available evidence suggests that regular exercise results in decreases in sleep disturbance. In our study, all of the exercise groups had scores for the majority of the GSDS subscales, as well as the total score, that were above the clinically meaningful cutoffs.…”

“…In terms of fatigue, across several systematic reviews and meta-analyses of patients undergoing active treatment as well as cancer survivors, [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34] the findings suggest that multimodal exercise interventions that include aerobic, resistance, and stretching exercises are effective in decreasing fatigue. While less well studied and often evaluated as a secondary outcome, [35][36][37][38] findings from four systematic reviews suggest that regular exercise results in decreases in sleep disturbance.…”

Different Methods of Physical Training Applied to Women Breast Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review

“…Spreadsheets were created according to CONSORT guidelines, and the reviewers used these spreadsheets to extract information about the characteristics, study population, eligibility criteria, intervention methods, and the results reported (Shulz et al, 2010;Falci and Marques, 2015). Each article was reviewed twice by the researchers to guarantee the reliability of the results (Moher et al, 2009a).…”

“…The quality of original works was assessed carefully based on the physical training results in WSBC. Articles with a low risk of bias were used (percentual ≥ 80), as determined by the CONSORT guidelines; methodological quality, as well as the inclusion and exclusion criteria, statistical data, and results, was also verified 1 (Shulz et al, 2010;Falci and Marques, 2015).…”

“…In this review, evidence that demonstrated the beneficial effects of physical exercise programs carried out by WSBC was gathered from studies considered to be of high quality, so the risk of bias was low (Shulz et al, 2010;Falci and Marques, 2015). Moderate or high-intensity exercise sessions have been shown to benefit WSBC.…”