Samenvatting

Insomnia affects an estimated 7.5 to 40% of the general population, and commonly results in severe health and socio-economic functioning deficits. The purpose of this study is to review the effects of aerobic exercise on insomnia.
The Cochrane library, PubMed, and PEDro databases were searched from 1990 to April 2013 for randomised controlled trials published in English. The keywords were: insomnia, aerobic exercise, aerobic training, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, sleep diary and polysomnography. Participants were aged 18 and older, with insomnia complaints, symptoms and/or disorders. Outcome measures were: Sleep quality, sleep onset latency and sleep duration. Six studies met the inclusion criteria. Data showed that aerobic exercise in insomniac individuals resulted in significant improvements in sleep quality (45-66%); sleep onset latency (27-59%); and sleep duration (13-73%). There is moderate evidence that aerobic exercise is as an effective treatment alternative for insomnia.