Sleep quality and aerobic training among menopausal women—A randomized controlled trial

BackgroundMenopause is associated with poor sleep quality and daytime sleepiness, which may lead to impaired quality of life and impaired functioning in daily activities.ObjectiveTo study whether exercise training improves sleep quality or decreases the amount of night time hot flushes among menopausal women with vasomotor symptoms.Study designA randomized controlled trial. Sedentary women (N = 176) aged 43–63 years with menopausal symptoms were randomized to a six-month unsupervised aerobic training intervention (50 min 4 times per week) or a control group. Both groups attended lectures on physical activity and health once a month.Main outcome measuresSleep quality and the amount of hot flushes disturbing sleep. The women reported daily via mobile phone whether hot flushes had disturbed their sleep and how they had slept (scale 1–5). Responses received by mobile phone over the 6-month period totaled on average 125 (5.2 per week) responses per participant.ResultsAt baseline there was no difference between the groups in the demographic variables. Sleep quality improved significantly more in the intervention group than in the control group (OR 1.02; 95% CI = 1.0–1.05, p = 0.043). The odds for sleep improvement were 2% per week in the intervention group and a decrease of 0.5% per week in the control group. The amount of hot flushes related to sleep diminished (p = 0.004) by the end of the intervention.ConclusionsAerobic training for 6 months may improve sleep quality and reduce hot flushes among symptomatic menopausal women.