The effect of exercise on sleep quality in overweight and obese: a systematic review and meta analysis

Background: The quality of sleep has a significant impact on emotional stability, cognitive performance, and physical healing. Individuals who are overweight or obese frequently have poor sleep quality. Evidence suggest that exercise is a beneficial measure for improving sleep quality by favorably impacting physiological systems involved in sleep regulation. Nevertheless, no meta-analysis has yet evaluated this research on overweight and obese individuals. Objectives: This study evaluates the effect of exercise on sleep quality in overweight and obese individuals through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: Randomized controlled trials (2006–2023) that compared exercise groups with control groups were identified through searches of four electronic databases: PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Web of Science. Subjective sleep outcomes were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), while objective outcomes were obtained through actigraphy or polysomnography. The risk of bias was evaluated using TESTEX, and a random-effects model was employed in RevMan 5.4 for meta-analyses. Results: Exercise significantly enhanced subjective sleep quality in overweight and obese people, as determined by 32 trials (N = 2301) (lower PSQI scores, MD -1.80, 95% CI -2.55 to -1.05, p < 0.00001). The only objective sleep outcomes that showed a significant improvement were sleep efficiency and wake after sleep onset; total sleep time and sleep onset latency did not. Conclusion: Exercise helps overweight and obese individuals sleep better subjectively, but not objectively. Further research is needed to explore its effects on objective sleep parameters.