Sleep quality and depression of nursing home older adults in wheelchairs after exercises

BackgroundSleep disturbances and depression are costly and potentially disabling conditions that affect a considerable proportion of older adults. The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of 6 months of elastic band exercises on sleep quality and depression of wheelchair-bound older adults in nursing homes.MethodsOne hundred twenty-seven older adults from 10 nursing homes participated in this cluster randomized controlled trial, and 114 completed the study. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups: experimental group (five nursing homes, n = 59) and control group (five nursing homes, n = 55). A 40-minute wheelchair-bound senior elastic band exercise program was implemented 3 times per week for 6 months. Sleep quality and depression of the participants were examined at baseline, after 3 months, and at the end of the 6-month study.DiscussionParticipants in the experimental group had longer sleep durations, better habitual sleep efficiencies, and less depression than the control group at 3 months of the study and maintained them throughout the rest of the 6-month study.ConclusionsNursing home directors could recruit volunteers to learn the program and lead the elderly residents in wheelchairs in practicing the wheelchair-bound senior elastic band exercises regularly in the facilities.