Sammendrag
Background: Most older adults do not get the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep. Physical activity (PA) is suggested to prevent sleep problems in older people. Older adults usually spend more time walking and sitting. Walking intensity differs from other walking parameters in that classifies different intensities based on metabolic equivalents (METs). The relationship between walking intensities, sitting time, self-reported PA and sleep duration is not known.
Objective: The aim of this pilot study is to explore the associations between walking intensities, sitting time, self-reported PA and sleep duration in community-dwelling older adults.
Methods: The participants were older adults over 70 years of age with no apparent cognitive impairment and serious sleep problems (mean age: 77.41 years; 54.55% female). They were asked to wear accelerometer sensors to collect time spent walking at different intensities and sitting time for 2 consecutive weeks, and bedside tables were installed with Somnofy to collect their sleep duration during the same time. Participants were asked to provide basic information about themselves, such as gender, age, height, weight and PA level. Descriptive statistics and linear regression analysis were used in this study.
Results: There was a statistically significant difference in mean daily sleep duration and mean daily sitting time between the group that met the moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) guidelines and the group that did not. The group that met the MVPA guidelines showed longer sleep duration, shorter sitting time and higher physical activity index (PAI). In the unadjusted model of the linear regression analysis, mean daily low walking intensity showed a negative statistically association with mean daily sleep duration, suggesting that more daily low intensity walking was associated with shorter sleep duration in this sample of older adults.
Conclusion: The amount of time spent different walking intensities and sitting each day may affect the sleep duration in older adults, and further studies with validated algorithms are needed to explore their associations. Larger sample sizes are also needed for further analyses, for the purpose of assessing if there exist gender differences.