The Effectiveness of Regular Exercise on Improving Sleep in Older Adults

Stanford University66 enrolled

Overview

This study will evaluate the effect of regular aerobic exercise on improving sleep in older adults with moderate difficulty sleeping.

Sleep deprivation is a common problem among older adults. It is often at the root of increased mortality and some psychiatric disorders. Regular participation in a medium-intensity exercise regimen may help people sleep better. This study will assess the effectiveness of a regular exercise program on improving sleep in older adults with moderate difficulty sleeping. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two conditions. One group will partake in a moderate-intensity physical activity training regimen. The other group will act as a non-exercise attention-control comparison group. Each group will undergo its assigned treatment for 12 months. Sleep quantity and quality will be measured objectively using in-home polysomnography. Subjective sleep quality and health-related quality of life measures will be evaluated with questionnaires. All measurements will be performed at the beginning of the study, Month 6, and Month 12.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders Sleep Disorders, Intrinsic

Interventions

Moderate-Intensity Aerobic Physical ActivityBEHAVIORAL

Moderate-Intensity Aerobic Physical Activity. 4+ days per week, 60+ minutes per day, moderate or greater intensity physical activity

Health Education ClassBEHAVIORAL

2 classes a week, 90+minutes per class, general health education, excluding information on physical activity

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 55 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Moderate difficulty sleeping unrelated to a physical illness or psychopathology (determined by the Sleep Questionnaire and Assessment of Wakefulness) * Currently not physically active on a regular basis * Body mass index less than 38 Exclusion Criteria: * Currently physically active on a regular basis * Diagnosed with a clinically significant sleep disorder * Mild or no sleep complaints (determined by the Sleep Questionnaire and Assessment of Wakefulness) * Unstable on medications * Current smoker * Consumes more than three alcoholic beverages per day * Medical condition that may limit participation in moderate-intensity exercise * Diagnosed with clinical psychopathology

Locations (1)

Stanford Prevention Research Center

Stanford, California, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

% Time in Stage 2 Sleep at 12 Months, Adjusted for Baseline

Percent of total sleep time spent in Stage 2 sleep at 12 months after adjusting for baseline level of Stage 2 sleep (i.e., baseline value included as a covariate in regression models conducted).

Time frame: baseline, 12 months

Secondary Outcomes

Sleep Disturbances

Self-reported sleep disturbance subscale on Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index Subscale consists of 9 items scored on a range of 0 to 3, 0 indicating no disturbance and 3 indicating frequent disturbance. All 9 items are summed, and the summary scores is captured by 1 of 4 categories ranging from 0 to 3, with 0 indicating less frequent disturbances and 3 indicating greater frequency of disturbances.

Time frame: 12 months

Peak Exercise Oxygen Consumption

Peak oxygen consumption measured during symptom limited treadmill exercise stress test

Time frame: 12 months

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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