Liang Jiaqi, Pan Xuanzhen, Zhao Li, Li Yan
Department of Exercise Physiology, School of Sport Science, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Beijing Key Laboratory of Sports Performance and Skill Assessment, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Nat Sci Sleep. 2025 Sep 3;17:2091-2109. doi: 10.2147/NSS.S520079. eCollection 2025.
Depression patients frequently report sleep disorder. Aerobic exercise is believed to improve sleep quality, but its effect on the overall sleep of depressed patients remains uncertain. This study systematically evaluates the effects of aerobic exercises at different intensities on subjective and objective sleep quality in participants diagnosed with depression or at high risk of depression, from studies covering various depression subtypes (including but not limited to geriatric depression, prenatal depression, and poststroke depression), and examines changes in depression, anxiety, and quality of life following aerobic exercise.
Systematic searches for randomized controlled trials on aerobic exercise, depression, and sleep quality were conducted using PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library up to December 31, 2024. Meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.4.1 and stata 17.0.
In total, 13 trials (n = 994) were included. Aerobic exercise significantly improved subjective sleep quality [SMD = -0.52, 95% CI = (-0.66, -0.38)] but had no significant effect on objectively measured sleep efficiency [SMD = -0.14, 95% CI = (-0.46, 0.75)], total sleep time [SMD = 0.30, 95% CI = (-0.03, 0.62)], or sleep latency [SMD = -0.11, 95% CI = (-0.76, 0.54)]. Additionally, aerobic exercise significantly alleviated depression [SMD = -0.70, 95% CI = (-0.93, -0.47)] and anxiety [SMD = -0.47, 95% CI = (-0.74, -0.19)], and enhanced quality of life [SMD = 0.64, 95% CI = (0.36, 0.92)]. Subgroup analyses revealed no significant differences among the different intensities.
Aerobic exercise significantly improves subjective sleep quality, alleviates depressive and anxiety symptoms, and enhances quality of life in depression patients. Light-, moderate-, and vigorous-intensities aerobic exercises have equal positive effects on these indicators. Given the bidirectional relationship between sleep disturbances and depression progression, this study highlights the potential of exercise therapy to disrupt the vicious cycle.
www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier, CRD42023455212.
抑郁症患者经常报告存在睡眠障碍。有氧运动被认为可以改善睡眠质量，但其对抑郁症患者整体睡眠的影响仍不确定。本研究系统评估了不同强度有氧运动对被诊断为抑郁症或有抑郁症高风险参与者的主观和客观睡眠质量的影响，这些研究涵盖了各种抑郁症亚型（包括但不限于老年抑郁症、产前抑郁症和中风后抑郁症），并考察了有氧运动后抑郁、焦虑和生活质量的变化。
截至2024年12月31日，使用PubMed、Web of Science、Embase和Cochrane图书馆对有氧运动、抑郁症和睡眠质量的随机对照试验进行系统检索。使用Review Manager 5.4.1和stata 17.0进行荟萃分析。
总共纳入了13项试验（n = 994）。有氧运动显著改善了主观睡眠质量[标准化均数差（SMD）=-0.52，95%置信区间（CI）=（-0.66，-0.38）]，但对客观测量的睡眠效率[SMD=-0.14，95%CI=（-0.46，0.75）]、总睡眠时间[SMD=0.30，95%CI=（-0.03，0.62）]或睡眠潜伏期[SMD=-0.11，95%CI=（-0.76，0.54）]没有显著影响。此外，有氧运动显著减轻了抑郁[SMD=-0.70，95%CI=（-0.93，-0.47）]和焦虑[SMD=-0.47，95%CI=（-0.74，-0.19）]，并提高了生活质量[SMD=0.64，95%CI=（0.36，0.92）]。亚组分析显示不同强度之间没有显著差异。
有氧运动显著改善了抑郁症患者的主观睡眠质量，减轻了抑郁和焦虑症状，并提高了生活质量。轻度、中度和剧烈强度的有氧运动对这些指标有同等的积极影响。鉴于睡眠障碍与抑郁症进展之间的双向关系，本研究突出了运动疗法打破恶性循环的潜力。
