Effects of aerobic exercise on home-based sleep among overweight and obese men with chronic insomnia symptoms: a randomized controlled trial.
To determine the effect of a six-month aerobic exercise program on home-based sleep quality among overweight and obese men with chronic insomnia symptoms.



Participants were 45 Finnish men (93% had body mass index ≥25) aged 30-65 years, with chronic (≥3 months) insomnia symptoms as classified by the DSM-IV criteria. Participants were randomized into an exercise (n = 24) or control group (n = 21). The exercise group received six-month aerobic exercise intervention with one to five sessions per week of 30-60 minutes duration. The control group was instructed to maintain habitual lifestyle behaviors during the study period. Seven-night home sleep was measured with a piezoelectric bed sensor and sleep diary. Other assessments included the modified Basic Nordic Sleep Questionnaire, a health and behavior questionnaire, physical activity and diet diaries, anthropometry, fat mass, and physical fitness. Analysis of covariance controlling for baseline values, and repeated-measures analysis of variance were implemented for time-by-group comparisons and within-group comparisons, respectively.



At six months, the exercise group showed reduced objective sleep onset latency (p = 0.010) and lowered frequency of difficulty initiating sleep (p = 0.021) than controls. Although a time-by-group difference was not significant, exercisers showed shorter objective wake after sleep onset (p = 0.004), reduced subjective nocturnal awakenings (p = 0.010), improved objective sleep efficiency (p <0.001), and improved morning-rated subjective sleep quality (p = 0.042) at six months than baseline.



A six-month aerobic exercise can improve sleep, mainly by mitigating difficulty of initiating sleep among overweight and obese men with chronic insomnia symptoms.
Exercise Health and Technology Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China; Department of Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Xiao
X
Tan
Department of Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland; Department of Medical Rehabilitation, Oulu University Hospital and Center for Life Course Health Research, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
Markku
M
Alén
Exercise Health and Technology Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China; Department of Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Petri
P
Wiklund
Vitalmed Research Center, Helsinki Sleep Clinic and Department of Neurosciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Markku
M
Partinen
Exercise Health and Technology Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China; Department of Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland. Electronic address: sulin.cheng@jyu.fi.
Sulin
S
Cheng
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000886:Anthropometry; D004032:Diet / Q000639:trends; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications*; D050177:Overweight / Q000150:complications*; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Exercise; Home-based sleep; Insomnia symptoms; Overweight; Piezoelectric; Sleep onset