Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Depression and Insomnia in Post Menopausal Women

The majority of women during the menopausal period have great hormonal changes that affect both somatic and mental aspects. In modern life, regular exercise has become a necessity and recently is considered as a new alternative method to improve post menopausal symptoms.
Aims: The trial intends to evaluate the effect of aerobic exercises on depression and insomnia in post menopausal Egyptian females.
Place and Duration of Study: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Bap- Al Sharya Hospital, El- Azhar University and the outpatient clinic of the Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, between July 2012 and October 2012.
Methodology: 20 post menopausal women, their age ranged from 51-63 years and their body mass index was less than 30 kg/m2 attached to this study after meeting the study requirements. All participants were assessed before and after the treatment program through self-rating depression scale (SDS) and Modified Davis Sleep measures scale (MDSS), A program of exercise (walking on a treadmill) started for 30 minutes at 60-70% of target heart rate (THR) for 4 weeks 3 times/week, after that the exercise was increased till 40 minutes for the next 4 weeks.
Results: Showed a statistically highly significant decrease (P<0.001) in (SDS) scores and a statistically highly significant increase in Modified Davis Sleep measures scale (MDSS), after the 8 weeks of exercise training.
Conclusion: Regular physical activity appears to be an alternative method to decrease depression and insomnia that occur during post menopausal period.