Effects Of Aerobic Exercises On The Level Of Insomnia And Fatigue In Pregnant Women

Abstract

Inadequate sleep resulting from difficulty in falling asleep, waking up frequently during the night, difficulty returning to sleep and un-refreshing sleep is one of the major complaints of women in the pregnancy state. Insomnia may present as difficulty in initiating or maintaining sleep, resulting in non-restorative sleep and impairment of day time functioning. This study was designed to determine the effect of aerobic exercises on level of insomnia and fatigue in pregnant women.Thirty pregnant women participated in an aerobic exercise programme for a period of 6 weeks. They were divided randomly into two groups. Group A participants received sleeping education and aerobic exercises, while Group B participants received only sleeping education. Levels of insomnia and fatigue were assessed pre-and post-intervention using Insomnia Severity Index questionnaire (ISI) and Quality of Life Fatigue Score respectively. Independent t-test was used to compare the levels of Insomnia and fatigue in the two groups. Level of significance was set at P<0.05 There was no significant difference in the level of insomnia and fatigue pre-exercise in the two groups (P>0.05). Post intervention, participants in group A demonstrated significantly lower levels of insomnia than the participants in group B (P<0.05). A significant difference in the level of fatigue post intervention was only observed in participants in group A (P< 0.5). The outcome of this study showed that the levels of insomnia and fatigue in pregnant women can be reduced with aerobic exercises.