Effects of Exercise Timing on Sleep Quality (SLEEPCORE)

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint Etienne

Status: Enrolling

Conditions: Healthy Endurance Athlet; Inactive People

Treatments: Other: Aerobic Exercise

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07322276

25CH122

2025-A00957-42 (Other Identifier)

Details and patient eligibility

About

Modern lifestyles are marked by a prevalence of sedentary behaviors and physical inactivity, which have been linked to numerous adverse health effects. While regular physical exercise is a well-established countermeasure, exercising in the late afternoon may paradoxically disrupt deep sleep due to increased core body temperature. Inactive and sedentary individuals, who often have impaired autonomic function compared to endurance-trained athletes, may be particularly susceptible to these negative effects, potentially resulting in compromised thermoregulation and exacerbated disruptions to deep sleep, a critical stage of sleep essential for overall recovery. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the impact of aerobic exercise performed in the late afternoon versus morning on: 1) deep sleep and sleep onset latency; and 2) core body temperature and its autonomic regulatory mechanisms on endurance-trained and inactive-sedentary people.

Enrollment: 42 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 30 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Group "Inactive" :No regular exercise practice (inactive people that don't follow the WHO recommendations) and have sedentary behaviors
• Group "Active": Regular exercise (athletes that are specialized in aerobic exercise, with more than 300 minutes per-week over 6 months and practice at regional level).

Exclusion criteria

• Have sleep disorders medically diagnosed or detected by sleep forms cutoffs (clinical insomnia by ISI, severe risk of obstructive sleep apnea by Stop-Bang, bad sleep quality by PSQI.
• Have a diagnosed mental health condition requiring treatment
• Have renal, respiratory, cardiovascular or neuromuscular disease medically diagnosed.
• Be pregnant or breastfeeding

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Crossover Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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42 participants in 2 patient groups

"Inactive-sedentary" group

Active Comparator group

Description:

inactive participants that realize 3 experimental conditions: evening exercise, morning exercise and control (no-exercise).

Treatment:

Other: Aerobic Exercise

"Active" group

Experimental group

Description:

endurance athletes that realize 3 experimental conditions: evening exercise, morning exercise and control (no-exercise).

Treatment:

Other: Aerobic Exercise