Kh. Namazi et al., THE INFLUENCES OF PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY ON PATTERNS OF SLEEP BEHAVIOR OF PATIENTS WITH ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE, International journal of aging & human development, 40(2), 1995, pp. 145-153
Literature indicates that patients with Alzheimer's disease often expe
rience nocturnal confusions and difficulties. The list of intervention
s for sleep disorder is long and often convincingly ineffective. A lig
ht exercise program was set up for eleven patients who exercised each
day for forty minutes. The sleeping behavior of these patients and ano
ther group of eleven who did not participate in the exercise program w
ere documented. The results, contrary to genera beliefs, indicate that
the most prevalent sleep behavior for both groups in the pre and post
conditions was ''sleeping soundly.'' Findings also alluded to the imp
ortance of exercise for this cohort in reducing ''restless'' behavior.
Those who participated in the exercise program manifested 40 percent
less ''restless'' behavior, while those in the non-exercise group had
an increase of 3 percent.