Background: Sleep disturbance (SD) is quite prevalent among collegiate students and is reflected upon various scales of measurements such as electrophysiological and biochemical. Despite its high prevalence and negative consequences, very few studies have focussed on the management of SD in collegiates. Aerobic exercise (AE) is associated with improvement in sleep and due to its extensive benefits, it has been now considered as an alternative management strategy for SD. Aim: To investigate the effect of 12-week AE training on electrophysiological and biochemical correlates of sleep in collegiate students. Methods: Twenty-eight collegiate students with Pittsburgh sleep quality index score > 5 were randomly assigned into two groups: AE and control. Both the groups were taught basic sleep hygiene (SH) at the beginning of study. AE group, in addition to SH, received 12 weeks of moderate intensity AE training on treadmill. Pre- and post-intervention measures were performed at baseline and after 12 weeks. Sleep latency (SL), total sleep time, percentage of N1, N2, N3, NREM, REM and sleep efficiency (SE%) were calculated from over-night polysomnography (PSG). Concentration of serum melatonin and cortisol were also measured pre and post intervention. Results: 2 × 2 mixed ANOVA resulted in significant decrease and increase in N1% and N3%, respectively, after 12 weeks of AE. Serum cortisol also showed a significant decrease in its concentration post-intervention. Serum melatonin and other PSG variables did not show any difference with AE training. Conclusion: AE training for 12 weeks improved sleep on electrophysiological and biochemical scales in SD collegiates. Trial registration number and date: CTRI/2019/05/019154. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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