Sunday, May 20, 2018

Exercise and Sleep in Older Americans

Findings from a Stanford University Medical School Study may come as no suprise:  older and middle-age people reported sleeping better when they added regular exercise to their routine.   After 16 weeks in a moderate intensity exercise program, subjects were able to fall asleep about 15 minutes earlier and sleep about 45 minutes longer at night.

The link between aerobic exercise and sleep may seem obvious, but until this study, there has been very little controlled research to support this conventional wisdom.    They they are only 20% of the population, older Americans recieve almost half of the medications prescribe to aid sleep.

The potential side effects of these drugs - confusion, falls, extended drowsiness, agitation, and interactions with other medications - can be especially problematic for this group.    Until this study, there were few attempts to identify effective non-drug approaches ot treating mild to moderate sleep disorders.


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