Effects of Multi-Component Exercise on Sleep Quality in Middle-Aged Adults

Jing-Yi Ai; Garry Kuan; Linda Ya-Ting Juang; Ching-Hsiu Lee; Yee-Cheng Kueh; I-Hua Chu; Xiao-Ling Geng; Yu-Kai Chang

doi:10.3390/ijerph192315472

Effects of Multi-Component Exercise on Sleep Quality in Middle-Aged Adults

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Nov 22;19(23):15472. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192315472.

Authors

Jing-Yi Ai¹, Garry Kuan², Linda Ya-Ting Juang³, Ching-Hsiu Lee³, Yee-Cheng Kueh⁴, I-Hua Chu^{5

6

7}, Xiao-Ling Geng^{1

8}, Yu-Kai Chang^{1

9}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei 106209, Taiwan.
² Exercise and Sports Science Programme, School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, Malaysia.
³ Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability Executive Master of Business Administration, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei 106209, Taiwan.
⁴ Biostatistics and Research Methodology Unit, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, Malaysia.
⁵ Department of Sports Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan.
⁶ Department of Medical Research, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan.
⁷ College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan.
⁸ Department of Wushu, Hong Kong Sports Institute, Hong Kong 999077, China.
⁹ Institute for Research Excellence in Learning Science, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei 106209, Taiwan.

Abstract

Sleep is a crucial factor in healthy aging. However, most middle-aged adults experience high levels of sleep disorders. While previous findings have suggested exercise training could benefit the quality of sleep, the effects of multi-component exercise on sleep quality are less examined. Accordingly, the current study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a multi-component exercise program on the quality of sleep among middle-aged adults. Twenty-four middle-aged adults were randomly assigned either to a multi-component exercise (MCE) group or a control group. The participants in the MCE group attended a 90-min session per week for 12 weeks. The control group was instructed to maintain their daily routine for 12 weeks. The primary outcome was the sleep quality evaluated by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The secondary outcome was physical fitness, including muscular strength and endurance, balance, and flexibility. Regarding sleep quality, the global mean score (p = 028), sleep disturbances (p = 011), and sleep efficiency (p = 035) of the PSQI scores were significantly reduced in the MCE group after the 12-week intervention. Regarding physical fitness, the flexibility of the MCE group improved significantly after the intervention (p = 028), yet, no significant change was observed in the control group. Additionally, the muscular strength of the control group declined significantly after the 12-week period (p = 034). Our results revealed the effectiveness of the MCE intervention in improving sleep quality and physical fitness in middle-aged adults. Further studies using larger sample sizes, objective measures of sleep quality, different types of exercise training, as well as different populations, are warranted to extend our current findings.

Keywords: middle-aged adults; multi-component exercise; physical fitness; sleep quality.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Exercise
Exercise Therapy
Humans
Middle Aged
Muscle Strength
Physical Fitness
Sleep
Sleep Quality*
Sleep Wake Disorders* / therapy

Grants and funding

This work was supported by part of a grant from the National Science and Technology Council (MOST 110-2410-H-003-142-MY3; MOST 111-2628-H-003-009) and National Taiwan Normal University from the Higher Education Sprout Project by the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Taiwan to YKC.