EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF PHYSICAL EXERCISE ON SLEEP QUALITY OF DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS: A LITERATURE REVIEW
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31435/ijitss.1(49).2026.5280Keywords:
Sleep Quality, Insomnia, Exercise, Physical Activity, PSQI, SleepAbstract
Research objectives: Sleep disturbances, including insomnia, are unfortunately a common occurrence among adults, negatively impacting various aspects of their physical and mental health. Available pharmacotherapy is restricted by adverse effects and limited safety of long-term usage. Consequently, interest in non-pharmacological approach including physical exercise intervention has increased. This work aims to review research published since 2018 on the topic of effects of physical exercise on sleep quality in adults.
Methods: PubMed, ResearchGate, MDPI, and Google Scholar were searched for RCTs, reviews, systematic reviews or meta-analyses in English, published between 2018 and 2025. Studies on children, with small populations or lacking interventions were excluded.
Key findings: Regular physical exercise, particularly aerobic exercise or resistance training, improved subjective sleep quality and reduced insomnia severity, among its other positive effects. Physical exercise of moderate intensity, with the duration of 30-60 minutes, conducted 3-5 times a week for 8-12 weeks proved to be most effective in the context of improving sleep quality. Moreover, some of other types of physical exercise were more beneficial for specific populations and resulted in additional health benefits.
Conclusions: Current evidence supports regular physical exercise as safe, easily accessible, and effective
intervention for improving sleep quality in adult population. Future research should focus on broader utilization of objective methods of sleep quality measures, standardizing exercise protocol for the best effect, further exploration of indirect pathways of interaction between sleep quality and physical activity, effects of different combinations of approaches in treating insomnia, and long-term follow up of the interventions.
References
Nelson, K. L., Davis, J. E., & Corbett, C. F. (2022). Sleep quality: An evolutionary concept analysis. Nursing Forum, 57(1), 144–151. https://doi.org/10.1111/nuf.12659
Alnawwar, M. A., Alraddadi, M. I., Algethmi, R. A., et al. (2023). The effect of physical activity on sleep quality and sleep disorder: A systematic review. Cureus, 15(8), e43595. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.43595
Zhao, H., Lu, C., & Yi, C. (2023). Physical activity and sleep quality association in different populations: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(3), Article 1864. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20031864
Sutton, E. L. (2021). Insomnia. Annals of Internal Medicine, 174(3), ITC33–ITC48. https://doi.org/10.7326/AITC202103160
Amiri, S., Hasani, J., & Satkin, M. (2021). Effect of exercise training on improving sleep disturbances: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized control trials. Sleep Medicine, 84, 205–218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2021.05.013
Geng, D., Li, X., & Sun, G. (2025). The effectiveness of exercise interventions in the improvement of sleep in older adult people: A meta-analysis. Frontiers in Public Health, 13, Article 1529519. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1529519
Xie, Y., Liu, S., Chen, X. J., et al. (2021). Effects of exercise on sleep quality and insomnia in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, Article 664499. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.664499
Wang, F., & Boros, S. (2021). The effect of physical activity on sleep quality: A systematic review. European Journal of Physiotherapy, 23(1), 11–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/21679169.2019.1623314
Gao, X., Qiao, Y., Chen, Q., et al. (2024). Effects of different types of exercise on sleep quality based on Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index in middle-aged and older adults: A network meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 20(7), 1193–1204. https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.11106
Konjarski, M., Murray, G., Lee, V. V., et al. (2018). Reciprocal relationships between daily sleep and mood: A systematic review of naturalistic prospective studies. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 42, 47–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2018.05.005
Ka, S., Choe, Y. H., Kim, Y.-I., et al. (2025). The effect of exercise interventions on sleep quality and weight loss in individuals with obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized control trials. Applied Sciences, 15(1), 467. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15010467
Tai, J. E., Phillips, C. L., Yee, B. J., et al. (2024). Obstructive sleep apnoea in obesity: A review. Clinical Obesity, 14(3), e12651. https://doi.org/10.1111/cob.12651
Kruk, J., Aboul-Enein, B. H., & Duchnik, E. (2021). Exercise-induced oxidative stress and melatonin supplementation: Current evidence. Journal of Physiological Sciences, 71(1), 27. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12576-021-00812-2
Silva, V. P. O., Silva, M. P. O., Silva, V. L. d. S., et al. (2022). Effect of physical exercise on sleep quality in elderly adults: A systematic review with a meta-analysis of controlled and randomized studies. Journal of Ageing and Longevity, 2(2), 85–97. https://doi.org/10.3390/jal2020008
D'Aurea, C. V. R., Frange, C., Poyares, D., et al. (2022). Physical exercise as a therapeutic approach for adults with insomnia: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Einstein (São Paulo), 20, eAO8058. https://doi.org/10.31744/einstein_journal/2022AO8058
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Maciej Hutkowski, Patrycja Markowicz, Anna Skrzypek, Zuzanna Chwostek, Krzysztof Biłyk, Mikołaj Zbrożek, Paulina Biedroń, Bartłomiej Kosiarski, Hanna Maruchniak, Wiktoria Marzec
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All articles are published in open-access and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Hence, authors retain copyright to the content of the articles.
CC BY 4.0 License allows content to be copied, adapted, displayed, distributed, re-published or otherwise re-used for any purpose including for adaptation and commercial use provided the content is attributed.
How to Cite
