How physical exercise improves the sleep quality of the elderly: An evidence from China

Abstract

The sleep problems are commonplace in the elderly, which seriously endangers physical and mental health. Physical exercise is a non-drug treatment that may improve the sleep quality of the elderly. Based on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), this paper evaluates the sleep quality of the elderly in local communities in China, and sets up a series of controlled experiments to analyze the influence of Tai Chi on the sleep quality of the elderly. The experimental results were analyzed on the SPSS2O software. The results show that sleep quality index and total sleep score of the elderly with were significantly reduced through the intervention of physical exercise, with a smaller-than-0.05 P-value. Furthermore, the author elaborated the influencing mechanism of physical exercise on the sleep quality of the elderly, and put forward relevant suggestions. The research results provide a good reference for the improvement of sleep quality of the elderly.