Resistance exercise may be superior to aerobic exercise for getting
better ZZZs

Date:
March 3, 2022
Source:
American Heart Association
Summary:
A new study found that resistance exercise may be superior
to aerobic exercise as a way to get better sleep. A year-long
resistance exercise program improved sleep quality, duration and
other indicators of a good night's sleep more so than aerobic
exercise, combined aerobic and resistance exercise, and no
exercise. Researchers say interventions focused on resistance
exercises may be a way to improve sleep and, in turn, cardiovascular
health.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Resistance exercise may be superior to aerobic exercise as a way to
get better sleep, and sleep is important for cardiovascular health,
according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle & Cardiometabolic
Health Conference 2022.

The meeting will be held in-person in Chicago and virtually Tuesday, March
1 - - Friday, March 4, 2022, and offers the latest in population-based
science related to the promotion of cardiovascular health and the
prevention of heart disease and stroke.


==========================================================================
"It is increasingly recognized that getting enough sleep, particularly
high- quality sleep, is important for health including cardiovascular
health.

Unfortunately, more than a third of Americans don't get enough sleep
on a regular basis," said study author Angelique Brellenthin, Ph.D.,
assistant professor of kinesiology at Iowa State University in Ames,
Iowa. "Aerobic activity is often recommended to improve sleep, yet very
little is known about the effects of resistance exercise versus aerobic exercise on sleep. The U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services' 2018 Physical Activity
Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report identified the need
for more research into resistance exercise and sleep outcomes. Our
study is one of the largest and longest exercise trials in a general
adult population to directly compare the effects of different types of
exercise on multiple sleep parameters." Previous research has confirmed
that not getting enough sleep (the recommended amount for adults is seven
to eight hours a day) or getting poor quality sleep increases risks for
high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and atherosclerosis, which
happens when fatty deposits build up in arteries. Not getting enough
sleep is linked to weight gain, diabetes and inflammation, all of which
can worsen cardiovascular disease. Sleeping too much or too little also
has been shown to increase the risk of stroke, heart attack and death.

For this study, researchers enrolled 386 adults who met the criteria
for overweight or obesity, which was a body mass index from 25-40 kg/m^2.

Participants were inactive and had elevated blood pressure, measuring
from 120- 139 mm Hg systolic (top number) and 80-89 mm Hg diastolic
(bottom number).

Participants were randomly assigned to a no-exercise group (for
comparison) or one of three exercise groups (aerobic only, resistance
only, or combined aerobic and resistance) for 12 months. Everyone in the exercise groups participated in supervised 60-minute sessions, three
times a week, with the combination exercise group doing 30 minutes of
aerobic and 30 minutes of resistance exercise.

The various workouts included:
* Aerobic exercise participants could choose among treadmills,
upright or
recumbent bikes or ellipticals for their aerobic modality during
each session. Researchers monitored their heart rates to keep them
continuously in the prescribed heart rate range for a moderate-to-
vigorous intensity exercise.

* The resistance exercise group completed their sets and repetitions
on 12
resistance machines to work all the major muscle groups in a
session. The machines included leg press, chest press, lat pulldown,
leg curl, leg extension, biceps curl, triceps pushdown, shoulder
press, abdominal crunch, lower back extension, torso rotation and
hip abduction.

Participants performed three sets of 8 to 16 repetitions at 50-80%
of their one-rep maximum.

* The combination group did 30 minutes of aerobic exercise at
a moderate-
to-vigorous intensity, and then two sets of 8 to 16 repetitions
of resistance exercise on 9 machines instead of 12.

Study participants completed a variety of assessments at the start and
at 12 months including the self-reported Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index
(PSQI), which measures sleep quality. Researchers also measured sleep
duration; sleep efficiency (how much time one is actually asleep divided
by the total amount of time the individual is in bed); sleep latency
(how much time it takes to fall asleep after getting into bed); and sleep disturbances (how frequently sleep is disturbed by things like being too
hot or too cold, snoring or coughing, having to use the bathroom or having pain). Lower scores on the PSQI indicate better quality sleep, ranging
from 0 for the best sleep to 21 as the worst possible sleep. Scores
greater than five are considered "poor quality sleep." The study found:
* More than one third (35%) of study participants had poor quality
sleep at
the beginning of the study.

* Among the 42% of participants who were not getting at least 7
hours of
sleep at the study's start, sleep duration increased by an average
of 40 minutes in 12 months for the resistance exercise group,
compared to an increase of about 23 minutes in the aerobic exercise
group, about 17 minutes in the combined exercise group and about
15 minutes in the control group.

* Sleep efficiency increased in the resistance exercise and combined
exercise groups, but not in the aerobic exercise or no exercise
group.

* Sleep latency decreased slightly, by 3 minutes, in the group
assigned to
resistance exercise only, with no notable change in latency in
the other participant groups.

* Sleep quality and sleep disturbances improved some in all groups
including the group that did not exercise.

Based on these findings, interventions focused on resistance exercises may
be a new way to promote better sleep and improve cardiovascular health.

"While both aerobic and resistance exercise are important for overall
health, our results suggest that resistance exercises may be superior when
it comes to getting better ZZZs at night," Brellenthin said. "Resistance exercise significantly improved sleep duration and sleep efficiency,
which are critical indicators of sleep quality that reflects how well a
person falls asleep and stays asleep throughout the night. Therefore,
if your sleep has gotten noticeably worse over the past two stressful
years, consider incorporating two or more resistance exercise training
sessions into your regular exercise routine to improve your general
muscle and bone health, as well as your sleep." A study limitation is
the researchers' use of a self-reported sleep questionnaire to assess
sleep rather than objectively monitoring sleep.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by American_Heart_Association. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


==========================================================================


Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220303215826.htm

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