NCT04402021

Exercise and Insomnia Study: The Effects of 1 Week of Exercise Training on Insomnia Severity

The Effect of Short-term Exercise on Sleep and Daytime Impairment in Adults With Insomnia

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 24 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Pittsburgh · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 55 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

It has been hypothesized that exercise may have a beneficial effect on sleep quality and insomnia severity in those who have insomnia symptoms as well as those who meet diagnostic criteria for insomnia disorder (e.g., Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5th edition (DSM-5)). Yet, the studies that have tested this are extremely limited in number and even fewer explore any acute effects of exercise training on subjects who meet diagnostic criteria. Thus, the investigators propose to conduct a randomized parallel design to compare the effects of short-term moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on insomnia severity and measures of sleep in a sample of adults who meet diagnostic criteria for insomnia.

Detailed description

Limited experimental research has explored the effects of acute exercise training (\< 1 week of exercise) on sleep and daytime impairment in samples of adults who meet diagnostic criteria for insomnia. In response to the current literature, the investigators aim to better understand the short-term clinical benefit of adopting exercise training in insomnia. Including multiple bouts of exercise in a short time span while measuring sleep with objective and self-reported measures may be more reflective of capturing true acute effects of exercise implementation on insomnia. The investigators propose to conduct a randomized parallel design to compare the effects of short-term moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on insomnia severity and measures of sleep in a sample of adults who meet diagnostic criteria for insomnia. This project will address prior limitations in the area of acute exercise research by utilizing a sample with diagnosed insomnia, assessing multiple nights of sleep, and implementing multiple bouts of exercise stimuli. This project will examine the following aims: Aim 1: To examine if implementing 1 week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise improves objective and subjective sleep compared to 1 week without exercise in a sample of adults who meet diagnostic criteria for insomnia. Aim 2: To examine if implementing 1 week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise reduces severity of daytime impairment compared to 1 week without exercise in a sample of adults who meet diagnostic criteria for insomnia.

Conditions

• Insomnia Chronic
• Insomnia, Primary

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Outdoor Walking	Unsupervised outdoor walking will be the mode used for moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. The walking intervention will consist of 3 sessions (completed within the span of 7 days) that are conducted in the morning.
OTHER	Quiet Rest	The quiet rest condition will consist of watching a nature documentary in a quiet room. The quiet rest intervention will consist of 3 sessions (completed within the span of 7 days) that are conducted in the morning.

Timeline

• Start date: 2020-08-11
• Primary completion: 2020-12-01
• Completion: 2020-12-01
• First posted: 2020-05-26
• Last updated: 2021-01-14

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States