The effects of high-intensity interval training on pain parameters and sleep quality in overweight and healthy-weight women
Date
2021
Authors
Smit, Zianca
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Journal ISSN
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Abstract
The relationship between overweight, pain and poor sleep quality is a complex network of cause
and effect, potentially mediated by central adiposity. Exercise, more specifically high-intensity
interval training (HIIT), may reduce pain and improve poor sleep quality. However, limited
research on the effects of HIIT on pain and sleep quality is available, especially in an
overweight, female population. The dissertation assessed the efficacy of a 14-week HIIT
intervention for reducing pain and improving sleep quality in overweight and healthy weight
women.
Overweight (n=21) and healthy-weight (n=17) women were grouped into exercising (overweight
n = 10, healthy-weight n = 10) and non-exercising groups (overweight n = 11, healthy-weight n
= 7). Exercising groups participated in a 14-week home-based, dynamic resistance HIIT
intervention, whereas non-exercising groups maintained habitual sedentary activity.
Anthropometry, pain perception (cold-, heat-, mechanical-, pressure pain thresholds, ischaemic
pain rating) and sleep quality (Pittsburgh sleep quality index; PSQI) were assessed before and
after the 14-week intervention.
The 14-week HIIT intervention reduced waist circumference of the overweight women (baseline
= 112.9 (21.7) cm; post-intervention = 101.3 (18.6) cm; p<0.001), but did not alter body mass,
body fat percentage, hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio or VO2peak in either the healthy-weight
or the overweight women. Post-intervention cold pain sensitivity was increased in the exercising
(baseline = 6.9 [5.2-9.9] °C; post-intervention = 12.3 [10.0-25.1] °C; p<0.05) and non-exercising
(baseline = 8.1 [5.5-12.3] °C; post-intervention = 17.6 [10.7-20.9] °C; p<0.05) overweight
women. Baseline sleep quality was poor in the overweight women according to PSQI global
scores (baseline PSQI; overweight exercising group = 8.0 (1.9), overweight non-exercising group
= 4.9 (3.3)). The sleep quality component score of the PSQI was improved in the exercising
overweight women (baseline = 1.8 (0.8); post-intervention = 0.8 (0.4); p<0.05). Post-intervention
pain perception and sleep quality of healthy-weight women remained unaltered. Associations
were observed between the following variables: decreased heat pain sensitivity and increased
body mass index (r=0.301, p=0.042); increased waist circumference and both poor sleep quality
(rs=0.325, p=0.049) and reduced sleep duration (rs=0.488, p=0.005) assessed at baseline in the
combined study sample.
The current dissertation demonstrates that HIIT may be a time-efficient intervention for
improving sleep quality in overweight women with poor sleep quality. Moreover, the results
support the notion that exercise may increase pain sensitivity in an overweight population.
Additionally, this study shows that increased BMI may mediate increased pain perception while
increased waist circumference may mediate poor sleep quality in South African women.
Description
A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Medicine to the Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Physiology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021