The effect of physical activity on sleep and quality of life of inactive elderly men

 Aging is an inevitable period of human life and the world's population is rapidly moving towards aging so that the sleep and quality of life (QoL) of these people have been considered with the advancement of science and attention to the population pyramid. Sleep disorders have a negative effect on the QoL of the elderly; therefore, the aim of this study was to answer the question of whether physical activity affects sleep and QoL of inactive elderly men (IEM).

 In this semi-experimental study, the population was 20 IEM. The data were collected using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) for measuring sleep disorders and Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) for measuring QoL and exercise protocol. The exercise protocol used in this study was performed with an intensity of 60% of the maximum heart rate for 12 weeks and 3 sessions per week. The Shapiro-Wilks, parametric dependent t-test and Wilcoxon non-parametric tests were used and SPSS 21 was applied for statistical calculations.

 After exercise intervention, the mean score of sleep quality decreased from 8.1 to 6, which improved by 26%, and the mean score of QoL increased from 78.63 to 81.73, indicating a 4% improvement in QoL, representing that there was a significant relationship between the variables (P<0.001).

 Physical activity improves the state of mobility by increasing the interest of older men in sports. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of many sleep disorders and to increase the QoL by informing the authorities about the protocol of physical activities and its implementation.