The Effects of Exercise on Sleep During Pregnancy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background: Sleep impairment during pregnancy can impact quality of life and lead to excessive gestational weight gain, gestational diabetes mellitus, postpartum depression, and delivery complications. In nonpregnant adults, exercise improves sleep quality, duration, and onset latency. Purpose: To determine whether exercise performed during pregnancy improves sleep outcomes. Methods: A systematic review was conducted from January 2021 to July 2022 using online databases and hand searching (PROSPERO registration number: CRD42021243477). Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) available in English were eligible if the sample included pregnant women, the intervention included exercise and was compared to a standard care group, and sleep was included as an outcome measure. Mean differences and standardized mean differences were calculated to compare sleep outcomes across studies. Heterogeneity of results was calculated using I2 and risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Results: A total of 2578 articles were found using the search terms, and 7 studies met inclusion criteria (n = 839). Prenatal exercise reduced the amount of self-reported sleep disturbances (2 RCTs n = 115; instrumental variable [IV] −0.53, 95% confidence interval [CI] −0.90, −0.16, z = 2.79, P = .005) and improved sleep quality (3 RCTs n = 477; IV −0.48, 95% CI −0.61, −0.36) during pregnancy. Other sleep outcomes were not analyzed due to variability of measurements. Conclusion: Compared with not exercising, exercise during pregnancy improves sleep quality during pregnancy; however, the quality of existing evidence was low. Given the importance of sleep for health and well-being, more research is needed to determine the utility of exercise for improving sleep in pregnancy.