Insomnia in the elderly? Here is the best exercise for a better sleep

Regular physical activity is widely known for the benefit of overall health, but what about its influence on the dream? While exercises play a key role in promoting better rest, not all types of exercises are even when it comes to fighting insomnia. New studies have shown that specific exercises can significantly reduce the risk of insomnia in the elderly.

Latest testPublished in the Family Medicine and Community Health magazine, he rated five different types of physical activity and stated that while combination and aerobic exercises are effective in improving the quality of sleep, resistance training works best in fighting insomnia in the elderly.

Scientists combined data from 25 studies involving over 2,000 older adults with an average age of 70 years. Scientists assessed how five different types of exercises influenced the quality of participants’ sleep, measured by the global sleep quality indicator in Pittsburgh (GPSQI).

The examined exercises included aerobic classes, such as fast walking and swimming, which increase the heart rate; Combination exercises, such as yoga, which mix flexibility and relaxation; Balance exercises, such as standing on one leg, which improves stability; Flexibility trainings such as gymnastics that increase mobility; and strength training, including weightlifting that muscles builds.

Scientists have noticed that although aerobic exercises improved the sleep by 3.76 GPSQI points, combinational exercises contributed to an improvement with a capacity of 2.54 points. However, the most significant results came from strength training and resistance, which showed the greatest improvement in sleep, increasing GPSQI by 5.75 points.

Further analysis showed that strength training had an area under the accumulated ranking curve (Sucra) 94.6%, which indicates that it was the most effective exercise to improve sleep quality among all tested options.

“This study shows that exercises, especially strengthening aerobic exercises and exercises, are beneficial to increase the subjective quality of sleep at a clinically significant level compared to normal activities, which is in line with previous research,” scientists wrote.

“Nevertheless, caution should be exercised when interpreting this study due to various exercise features, a small number of tests and a high risk of bias among the tests,” they added.

Scientists also noted that the intensity of some exercises can be challenges for the elderly with limited physical abilities. This means that although some exercises are very beneficial, modifications or lower intensity options may be necessary to ensure safety and effectiveness to all people.