The effect of three-week exercise programme on sleep quality and depression symptoms in female adults

Abstract

The aim of the study is to examine how a three-week exercise programme with increasing intensity influences sleep quality and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Thirty physically healthy female adults with a sedentary lifestyle participated in the exercise programme. Participants suffer from mild depression and poor sleep; however, they have not been under medical or psychiatric treatments. They were randomly assigned to the exercise group or to the group of waiting-list condition. The experimental group performed a threeweek spinning programme of 50 minutes of exercise, 3 times a week. The main programme was to increase intensity gradually from 60-70% maximal heart rate to 70-80% HRmax. Participants of the exercise programme reported better sleep quality, fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as lower daytime sleepiness at the end of the programme than at baseline. The improvement in sleep quality and depression was simultaneous. The positive changes in sleep quality may already occur after one week of exercise. The effects were prevailed and continued until the end of exercise course. In sum, there were significant effects of exercise on improved sleep quality and decreased depressive symptoms, as well as moderate effects on trait-anxiety in female sedentary adults. Increasing the intensity of exercise and taking into account the initial activity/fitness level played an important role in maintaining motivation to do regular exercise.