Relationships between physical activity, sleep and cognitive function: A narrative review

Sewell, Kelsey R; Erickson, Kirk I.; Rainey‐Smith, Stephanie R.; Peiffer, Jeremiah J.; Sohrabi, Hamid R.; Brown, Belinda M.

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.09.003

Cited by 49 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…Some cross-sectional studies suggest that PA improves sleep quality, which could be a mechanism by which PA improves cognitive abilities [ 58 ]. However, we did not find significant associations between sleep duration and quality of CRT task solving.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Physical Activity, BMI, and Wellbeing Affect Logical Thinking?

Skurvydas

Lisinskienė²,

Majauskienė³

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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We studied 6368 people (4544 women and 1824 men; aged 18–74 years). The research goal was to determine whether the Cognitive Reflection Test score (logical thinking compared with intuitive thinking) depends—and in what way it depends—on the healthy lifestyle components and emotional health-related components as well as age (18–74 years) and gender. We established that analytical vs. intuitive thinking depended on components of a healthy lifestyle, physical activity, sleep, eating habits, smoking and alcohol consumption, specificity of sporting activity, body mass index, and emotional health-related components (stress, depression, impulsivity, subjective health, emotional intelligence), as well as age and gender. We found that logical thinking was not associated with sleep, moderate-to-vigorous PA, impulsivity, subjective health, and components of a healthy lifestyle. However, logical thinking decreases with age, gender (higher in men than in women), BMI (decreases in both genders over the second degree of obesity), depression (the more severe depression in women, the worse their logical thinking), sedentary behavior (people who sat for longer periods had more difficulty solving problems), and in professional sportswomen (logical thinking is worse in professional sportswomen than in sedentary women, amateur sportswomen, or women who use gyms). Finally, we determined inverse correlations between logical thinking, emotional intelligence, and stress.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Physical Activity, BMI, and Wellbeing Affect Logical Thinking?

Skurvydas

Lisinskienė²,

Majauskienė³

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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“…Physical activity can improve sleep by regulating the circadian cycle, which is often altered with aging. Physical exercise can work like a Zeitgeber, adjusting the biological clock [51]. Aging decreases parasympathetic tone, while exercise can modulate vagus nerve activity, increasing parasympathetic tone.…”

Section: This Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Physical Exercise on Sleep Quality in Elderly Adults: A Systematic Review with a Meta-Analysis of Controlled and Randomized Studies

Silva

et al. 2022

JAL

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Introduction: Aging is directly related to sleep problems. Primary insomnia has a negative impact on the lives of elderly adults, altering cognitive and metabolic functions. Physical activity is positively related to improvement in sleep quality. The objective of this systematic review was to analyze the effects of physical activity programs in healthy elderly individuals aged 60 years or older, using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) as a tool. Methods: The search was performed in the PubMed and Scielo databases, July 2021. Only randomized clinical trials that evaluated the role of physical exercise in the sleep quality of elderly patients were selected by two independent reviewers. Results: The result of the PSQI analysis showed that compared with the control condition, the exercise intervention was beneficial for the groups with insomnia (SMD: −0.57; 95% CI: −0.73 to −0.4; p < 0.00001; I2 = 53%) and without insomnia (SMD: −0.61; 95% CI: −0.75 to −0.47; p < 0.00001; I2 = 73%) and for the two groups combined (SMD: −0.59; 95% CI: −0.70 to −0.49; p < 0.0001, I2 = 68%). Conclusion: The systematic and continuous practice of physical exercise significantly improves perceived sleep quality in elderly individuals. Therefore, physical activities can be used as a tool to prevent sleep disorders and improve health in general. Future studies may clarify the comparison between aerobic and resistance exercises, evaluate the dose–response relationship and include more participants.

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“…In turn, better sleep quality can promote cognitive health [32][33][34][35]. Moreover, the deterioration in sleep quality often observed in older adults [36][37][38] could contribute to age-related cognitive decline [32,[39][40][41]. However, at the time of writing, only few cross-sectional studies have tested the potential mediating role of sleep quality on the association between physical activity and cognitive function [40,42,43].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Cheval

Maltagliati

Sieber

et al. 2022

JAD

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Background: Physical activity has been associated with better cognitive function and better sleep quality. Yet, whether the beneficial effect of physical activity on cognitive function can be explained by an indirect pathway involving better sleep quality is unclear. Objective: To investigate whether sleep quality mediates the association between physical activity and cognitive function in adults 50 years of age or older. Methods: 86,541 community-dwelling European adults were included in the study. Physical activity and sleep quality were self-reported. Indicators of cognitive function (immediate recall, delayed recall, verbal fluency) were assessed using objective tests. All measures were collected six times between 2004 and 2017. The mediation was tested using multilevel mediation analyses. Results: Results showed that self-reported physical activity was associated with better self-reported sleep quality, which was associated with better performance in all three indicators of cognitive function, demonstrating an indirect effect of physical activity on cognitive function through sleep quality. The mediating effect of sleep quality accounted for 0.41%, 1.46%, and 8.88% of the total association of physical activity with verbal fluency, immediate recall, and delayed recall, respectively. Conclusion: These findings suggest that self-reported sleep quality partly mediates the association between self-reported physical activity and cognitive function. These results need to be confirmed by device-based data of physical activity and sleep quality.

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Relationships between physical activity, sleep and cognitive function: A narrative review

Cited by 49 publications

References 72 publications

Do Physical Activity, BMI, and Wellbeing Affect Logical Thinking?

Do Physical Activity, BMI, and Wellbeing Affect Logical Thinking?

Effect of Physical Exercise on Sleep Quality in Elderly Adults: A Systematic Review with a Meta-Analysis of Controlled and Randomized Studies

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

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