This may be the best method to combat insomnia

Chronic insomnia has doubled in the last 20 years. It has gone from affecting 6.4% of the Spanish adult population in 1999 to 14% in 2019, according to data from a study led by the Spanish Sleep Society (SES) and presented within the frame those known as ‘sleeping pills’.

Insomnia is the most frequent sleep disorder. Stress, digital hyperconnection and population aging are some of the factors behind this epidemic.

Now, a new study, published in the open access magazine ‘Family Medicine and Community Health’, seems to have found the key to fight sleeping problems In older adults.

The exercise of resistance or muscle strengthening, using weights or the body itself, can be the best type of exercise to combat insomnia, according to a grouped data analysis of available research.

The same study suggests that aerobic exercise or a combination of strength, aerobic, balance and flexibility exercises also seem to be effective.

Sleep quality tends to decrease with age And up to one in five older adults suffers from insomnia, the researchers claim. The poor sleep quality is not only linked to a series of serious health problems and cognitive impairment, but also increases the probability of low performance in the workplace and absenteeism, they add.

Previous research already suggested that exercise helps relieve insomnia symptoms, but it is not clear what type of physical activity may be more useful. To discover it, the researchers sought, in research databases, relevant clinical trials, published until October 2022, to compare physical exercise with daily activities, habitual care, other non -physical activity or health education in people with formal insomnia diagnosis, using the global Pittsburgh sleep quality index (GPSQI).

The types of exercise addressed by the studies included Aerobicslike riding a bike, dance, swimming, walking at a light pace and making gardening; of endurance (use weights, flexions and plates); of equilibrium, such as climbing steps, heel walking to tip; of flexibility (Gymnastics, Yoga and Pilates); and Combined exercises.

In the grouped data analysis, twenty -four studies were included in which 2,045 adults of at least 60 years participated (average of 70). The majority were carried out in Asia (56%), North America (16%), South America (16%) and Europe (12%). One in five were made in elderly residences.

More than half of the intensity of the exercise reported was mild to moderate and moderate, with an average duration of each session of Little more than 50 minutes And a surrounding frequency 2 to 3 times a week. The exercise programs lasted 14 weeks, on average.

The grouped data analysis included only studies that analyzed combined exercises and aerobic exercises, because there were not enough studies that covered other types of exercises. This analysis showed that the combined exercise significantly improved the global Pittsburgh sleep quality index (GPSQI) in 2.35 points, while aerobic activity improved it at 4.35 points.

When the data were grouped through a network meta -analysis (a statistical method that analyzes several different ‘treatments’ and combines direct and indirect effects), The exercise of force/resistance was the most effectiveimproving the GPSQI at 5.75 points. The aerobic exercise increased the GPQSI by 3.76 points, while the combined exercise improved by 2.54.

Regarding the other measures with which the exercise was compared, sleep education was the most effective, although what this implied was not clearly defined in the studies included, and it did not become as good as the physical activity of muscle strength/resistance, as the analysis showed.

Among the limitations of this research, the authors warn that the design and methodology of the studies included vary considerably and that only a few analyzed specific types of exercise. In some cases they did not include information about the intensity of the exercise.

«The exercise, in particular the exercise of strengthening and aerobic exercise, is beneficial to Improve the subjective quality of sleep At a clinically significant level compared to other activities, “they conclude.