The effect of exercise and physical activity on sleep quality and quality of life in Iranian Older Adults: A systematic review

Introduction: Quality of sleep and quality of life are two very important factors that improving them can help improve the quality of life of the elderly, in which exercise and physical activity play an important role. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to systematically review studies on the effect of exercise and physical activity on sleep quality and quality of life in the elderly in Iran. Method: International databases of PubMed (Medline), Science Direct and Scopus and Persian databases including Jihad Daneshgahi Scientific Database, Iran Research Institute of Scientific Information and Documents (Irandak) and Database of Iranian Publications (Magiran) and Google Scholar scientific search engine was also searched in English and Farsi until October 6, 2020, using the keywords "Physical activity", "Exercise training", "Iran", "Elderly", "Sleep quality" and "Quality of life". A total of 824 articles were retrieved. After screening, the full text of 27 articles on the effects of exercise on sleep quality and quality of life of the elderly in Iran were reviewed. Finally, 18 articles that were qualitatively appropriate and met the inclusion criteria were dissected and examined. Findings: Different aerobic, resistance and combined exercises have a significant effect on improving the sleep quality of Iranian elderly. Also, various exercise training and physical activity have a significant relationship with improving the quality of life of Iranian elderly. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that exercise and physical activity in the elderly of Iran improves their sleep quality and quality of life without side effects. Due to this issue, there is a need for effective planning and interventions in the field of exercise and physical activity for the elderly.