Evidence summary (Updated 2022)
Sleep disturbance is common in patients across a range of inflammatory rheumatic diseases (1)
There is moderate level evidence from studies on the general population that regular physically activity improves sleep (2-3).
A recent single study (4) involving 28 participants with scleroderma, with the intervention group participating in Tai Chi, showed an improvement in sleep. There were no further studies in connective tissue diseases looking at sleep as an outcome.
Quality of evidence:
Grade C (Scleroderma) – Low quality due to very small sample size
Strength of recommendation
Grade 2 (Scleroderma)– Low quality evidence therefore not contributing significantly to existing literature.
Conclusion:
There is low quality evidence that physical activity and exercise interventions can improve sleep quality in patients with Scleroderma.
References:
- Sangle SR, Tench CM, D’Cruz DP. Autoimmune rheumatic disease and sleep: a review. Curr Opin Pulm Med. 2015 Nov;21(6):553-6. doi: 10.1097/MCP.0000000000000215. PMID: 26402614.
- Department of Health & Social Care. UK Chief Medical Officers’ Physical Activity Guidelines 2019.
- Kredlow MA, Capozzoli MC, Hearon BA, Calkins AW, Otto MW. The effects of physical activity on sleep: a meta-analytic review. J Behav Med. 2015;38(3):427-449.
- Cetin SY, Calik BB, Ayan A. Investigation of the effectiveness of Tai Chi exercise program in patients with scleroderma: A randomized controlled study. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2020 Aug;40:101181. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2020.101181. Epub 2020 Apr 25. PMID: 32891271.