Exercise and sleep: a systematic review of previous meta‐analyses
Open accessAbstract
Objective: Conduct a systematic review of previous meta‐analyses on exercise and sleep outcomes in adults and a meta‐analysis of studies nested within these meta‐analyses. Methods: Meta‐analyses of randomized controlled exercise interventions were included by searching nine electronic databases and cross‐referencing. Dual‐selection and data abstraction were conducted. Methodological quality of meta‐analyses was assessed using AMSTAR and quality of evidence using GRADE. Random‐effects models were used to pool results from the individual studies included in each meta‐analysis. Results: Three meta‐analyses representing 950 adults were included. Methodological quality ranged from 36% to 64% while quality of evidence was very low to low. Statistically significant improvements (P ≤ 0.05) were observed for the apnea‐hypopnea index (AHI), overall sleep quality, global score, subjective sleep, and sleep latency. The number‐needed‐to‐treat (NNT) and percentile improvements ranged from 4 to 7 and from 18.1 to 26.5, respectively. When overall sleep quality results from individual studies nested within different meta‐analyses were pooled, statistically significant standardized mean difference (SMD) improvements were observed (–0.50, 95% CI –0.72 to –0.28). The NNT and percentile improvement were 7 and 19, respectively. Conclusions: Exercise improves selected sleep outcomes in adults. To increase public health reach, a large, well‐designed, and more inclusive meta‐analysis is needed.
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- Authors
- Kelley, G. A., & Kelley, K. S.
- Affiliations
- West Virginia University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Kelley, George A
- Venue
- Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2017-02
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 26-36
- ISSN
- 1756-5383 (ISSN-L)
- 1756-5391
- PMC
- PMC5527334
- OpenAlex
- W2555124825
- Cited by
- 258
- References
- 47
- Citations by year
- 2026: 22 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 35 · 2022: 35 · 2021: 46 · 2020: 27 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 2
- FWCI
- 1.70
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- The Research Repository @ WVU (West Virginia University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences (U54GM104942)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Obstructive Sleep Apnea Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Keywords
- physical activity, sleep, sleep quality, apnea-hypopnea index, sleep latency, subjective sleep, exercise intervention, adults, meta-analysis quality, number needed to treat
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Humans, Sleep, Exercise
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