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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Sleep Sci 2024; 17(01): e75-e81
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1776742
Original Article

The Effect of Pilates on Quality of Sleep, Aerobic Capacity and Anaerobic Power in Premenopausal Women

Diamantoula G. Persaki
1   Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
,
Alexandra Nieri
1   Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
,
Nikolaos G. Apostolidis
2   School of Physical Education and Sport Science, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
,
Evangelos Konstantinou
1   Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
,
Pavlos Myrianthefs 
1   Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
› Author Affiliations Funding The author(s) received no financial support for the research.
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Abstract

Pilates is a holistic exercise focused on respiration, body control, and accuracy of movements, and it improves respiratory muscle strength, balance, quality of life, and overall physical performance. However, little is known about the effect of Pilates on sleep quality. The purpose of the present prospective observational study was to evaluate the effect of four months of Pilates training on the quality of sleep, aerobic capacity, and anaerobic power in premenopausal women. The sample consisted of 53 premenopausal women: one experimental group (n = 40) and one control group (n = 13). Participants in the experimental group received at least three one-hour sessions of Pilates exercise per week for 16 weeks. The two groups were similar at baseline. After 4 months of Pilates, the intervention group had significantly lower scores on the Athens Insomnia Scale, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and autonomic arousal index compared to the baseline scores. The intervention group presented significant improvement in aerobic fitness, muscle strength, flexibility, balance, abdominal muscle endurance, as well as in the general health and social functioning subscales of the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Pilates workouts appeared to improve sleep quality in premenopausal women, as well as the basic parameters of fitness and quality of life.

Keywords

female - quality of life - physical examination - sleep


Publication History

Received: 24 August 2022

Accepted: 14 July 2023

Article published online:
15 February 2024

© 2024. Brazilian Sleep Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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