Research: Study connects exercise with improved sleep quality in women with PTSD symptoms
High-intensity exercise can improve sleep quality, possibly by reducing anxiety and hyperarousal symptoms, in women with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, according to new research from the University of Georgia’s Department of Kinesiology.
Published by Melissa McGranahan (B.S.Ed. ’14, M.S. ’18, Ph.D. ’23) and Patrick O’Connor, a professor in the Department of Kinesiology, the paper also highlights a demographic that has been underrepresented in prior studies.
“The prevalence of PTSD is approximately twice as high in women as in men, yet women have been underrepresented in exercise intervention studies,” said McGranahan, now a postdoctoral research fellow at Emory University School of Medicine. “Although exercise training has demonstrated positive effects on sleep in healthy samples, limited evidence exists for its impact on sleep for women with PTSD.”