Effects of exercise interventions on mental health in people with insomnia symptoms: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND

People with insomnia symptoms frequently experience substantial psychological burden, with their mental health status remaining suboptimal. Despite the extensive body of research examining the interplay between exercise, sleep, and mental health, several limitations persist, such as the target populations of interventions are overly broad, and the coverage of exercise intervention modalities remains incomplete, lack of integration of non-traditional sports. Furthermore, the influence of moderating variables, including exercise duration, intensity and frequency, on the mental health outcomes of people with insomnia requires further elucidation.

OBJECTIVE

This article aims to explore the impact of exercise interventions on the mental health of people with insomnia symptoms through systematic review and meta-analysis.

METHODS

This research process followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Randomized controlled studies on the impact of exercise intervention on the mental health of insomniacs were systematically retrieved in five major electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, CINAHL and MEDKIN databases). The search strategy was based on the population, intervention, comparison, and outcome study design (PICOS) framework. The self-reported outcomes included depression, anxiety, stress, mental health-related quality of life and fatigue. Subgroup analyses were conducted using intervention duration, intervention frequency, intervention period, intervention intensity, and intervention mode. Analysis was conducted using Stata software.

RESULTS

Through searching multiple databases, 20 studies involving 1319 participants were finally included. Random effect model was used to explore the effects of exercise intervention on mental health. Meta analysis showed that exercise intervention significantly reduced depression (Hedges's g = -0.46, 95 %CI: -0.70∼-0.21), anxiety (Hedges's g = -0.26, 95 %CI: -0.43∼-0.10), stress (Hedges's g = -0.45, 95 %CI: -0.65∼-0.25). Although mental health-related quality of life and fatigue were not significant in the preliminary analysis, longer intervention periods were found to be beneficial to mental health-related quality of life and shorter intervention frequencies were found to be effective in reducing fatigue in subgroup analyses.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this study indicate that exercise interventions constitute a viable nonpharmacological strategy for effectively enhancing mental health outcomes among people with insomnia symptoms. Furthermore, we suggest that people with insomnia symptoms presenting with distinct mental health symptoms should select personalized exercise regimens tailored to their unique characteristics, thereby facilitating more precise and efficacious interventions.