Effects of Two Physical Activity Interventions on Sleep and Sedentary Time in Pregnant Women.

Saud Abdulaziz Alomairah, Signe de Place Knudsen, Caroline Borup Roland, Stig Molsted, Tine D Clausen, Jane M Bendix, Ellen Løkkegaard, Andreas Kryger Jensen, Jakob Eg Larsen, Poul Jennum, Bente Stallknecht

Journal: International journal of environmental research and public health 2023;20(7):5359

PMID: 37047973

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Plain Language Summary

Pregnant women benefit from physical activity (PA) during pregnancy. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the FitMum PA interventions on sleep quantity and quality and sedentary time (SED). This study was a secondary analysis of the FitMum study which included 220 healthy pregnant women. Participants were randomised to one of three groups. Results showed that pregnant women are prone to low sleep quality and high SED, which worsens as pregnancy progresses. Pregnant women who received structured supervised exercise training had better sleep quality and less SED than pregnant women receiving standard prenatal care when self-reported. Furthermore, when measured by a consumer activity tracker, no differences were observed between groups. Authors conclude that interventions that increase PA levels might improve sleep quality and decrease SED in pregnant women. Future behavioural interventions targeting pregnant women should include evidence-based content to improve sleep quality and reduce SED.

Abstract

Pregnancy is often associated with poor sleep and high sedentary time (SED). We investigated the effect of physical activity (PA) interventions on sleep and SED in pregnant women. A secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial ( = 219) explored the effect of structured supervised exercise training (EXE) or motivational counseling on PA (MOT) compared to standard prenatal care (CON) on sleep and SED during pregnancy. Three times during pregnancy, sleep was determined by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and SED by the Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire (PPAQ). Also, a wrist-worn consumer activity tracker measured sleep and SED continuously. Data from the activity tracker confirmed that sleep time decreases, and SED increases by approx. 30 and 24 min/day, respectively, from baseline (maximum gestational age (GA) week 15) to delivery. Compared to CON, the global PSQI score was better for EXE in GA week 28 (-0.8 [-1.5; -0.1], = 0.031) and for both EXE and MOT in GA week 34 (-1 [-2; -0.5], = 0.002; -1 [-2; -0.1], = 0.026). In GA week 28, SED (h/day) from PPAQ was lower in EXE compared to both CON and MOT (-0.69 [-1; -0.0], = 0.049; -0.6 [-1.0; -0.02], = 0.042). In conclusion, PA interventions during pregnancy improved sleep quality and reduced SED.

Address: Public Health Department, College of Health Sciences, Saudi Electronic University, Riyadh 13316, Saudi Arabia.; Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark.; Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark.; Department of Clinical Research, Copenhagen University Hospital-North Zealand, 3400 Hilleroed, Denmark.; Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Nordsjaellands Hospital, 3400 Hilleroed, Denmark.; Department of Public Health, Section of Biostatistics, University of Copenhagen, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark.; Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.; Danish Center for Sleep Medicine, Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark.

DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20075359