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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Sleep Sci 2022; 15(03): 288-296
DOI: 10.5935/1984-0063.20220053
ORIGINAL ARTICLES

Effects of exercise training and exercise plus acupuncture on chronic insomnia: a feasibility study

Walkyria Silva Ferreira
1   Universidade Federal de Jataí, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Aplicadas à Saúde - Jataí - GO - Brazil
,
Marcos Gonçalves Santana
1   Universidade Federal de Jataí, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Aplicadas à Saúde - Jataí - GO - Brazil
,
Shawn D Youngstedt
3   Arizona State University, Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation - Phoenix - AZ - United States
,
Daniela Elias de Assis
1   Universidade Federal de Jataí, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Aplicadas à Saúde - Jataí - GO - Brazil
,
Bernardo Pessoa de Assis
1   Universidade Federal de Jataí, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Aplicadas à Saúde - Jataí - GO - Brazil
,
Daniela Pinto de Cerqueira
2   Universidade Federal de Jataí, Curso de Educação Física - Jataí - GO - Brazil
,
Marcia Carolina Mazzaro
1   Universidade Federal de Jataí, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Aplicadas à Saúde - Jataí - GO - Brazil
,
Giselle Soares Passos
1   Universidade Federal de Jataí, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Aplicadas à Saúde - Jataí - GO - Brazil
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Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of exercise and exercise plus acupuncture on chronic insomnia.

Material and Methods suggest replacing with “effects of” no feasibility things are reported chronic insomnia were randomized to a 12-week treatment with exercise or exercise plus acupuncture. Exercise treatment included 50 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (50% of reserve heart rate), on a treadmill, 3 times/wk. Exercise plus acupuncture treatment included the exercise protocol plus acupuncture once per week. Pre- and post-treatments measures included insomnia severity index (ISI), Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), polysomnography (PSG), 10 days-sleep diary, state-trait anxiety inventory, Beck depression inventory, quality of life (SF-36), and morning cortisol level.

Results No group by time interaction was found for insomnia severity, sleep, mood or quality of life. Significant time differences (p<0.05) were observed for ISI, PSQI, and some variables of sleep diary. Polysomnography data showed a decrease in rapid eye movement (REM) latency after the interventions. Significant time improvements were also observed for mood, anxiety, depression, and quality of life. A significant moderate correlation was found between changes in the ISI and morning cortisol level.

Conclusion There were no significant differences between treatments on insomnia severity, sleep, mood or quality of life. Exercise and exercise plus acupuncture were efficacious for decreasing insomnia severity to subthreshold insomnia. Greater reduction in morning cortisol was associated with a greater reduction on insomnia severity across both treatments.

Exercise - Sleep - Depression - Anxiety - Acupuncture - Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders


Publication History

Received: 11 August 2021

Accepted: 10 January 2022

Article published online:
01 December 2023

© 2023. Brazilian Sleep Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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