Although a substantial body of literature has explored the relationship between sleep and exercise, comprehensive reviews and definitive conclusions about the impact of exercise interventions on sleep are lacking. Electronic databases were searched for articles published between January 2013 and March 2017. Studies were included if they possessed either objective or subjective measures of sleep and an exercise intervention that followed the guidelines recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine. Thirty-four studies met these inclusion criteria. Twenty-nine studies concluded that exercise improved sleep quality or duration; however, four found no difference and one reported a negative impact of exercise on sleep. Study results varied most significantly due to participants' age, health status, and the mode and intensity of exercise intervention. Mixed findings were reported for children, adolescents, and young adults. Interventions conducted with middle-aged and elderly adults reported more robust results. In these cases, exercise promoted increased sleep efficiency and duration regardless of the mode and intensity of activity, especially in populations suffering from disease. Our review suggests that sleep and exercise exert substantial positive effects on one another; however, to reach a true consensus, the mechanisms behind these observations must first be elucidated.

Thirty physically active healthy men (20.1 +/- 1.6 yr) were randomly assigned to participate for 10 wk in one of the following training groups: endurance trained (ET; 3 days/wk jogging and/or running), resistance trained (RT; 3 days/wk resistance training), or combined endurance and resistance trained (CT). Before and after training, basal metabolic rate (BMR), percent body fat (BF), maximal aerobic power, and one-repetition maximum for bench press and parallel squat were determined for each subject. Urinary urea nitrogen was determined pre-, mid-, and posttraining. BMR increased significantly from pre- to posttraining for RT (7,613 +/- 968 to 8,090 +/- 951 kJ/day) and CT (7,455 +/- 964 to 7,802 +/- 981 kJ/day) but not for ET (7,231 +/- 554 to 7,029 +/- 666 kJ/day). BF for CT (12.2 +/- 3.5 to 8.7 +/- 1.7%) was significantly reduced compared with RT (15.4 +/- 2.7 to 14.0 +/- 2.7%) and ET (11.8 +/- 2.9 to 9.5 +/- 1.7%). Maximal aerobic power increased significantly for ET (13%) but not RT (-0.2%) or CT (7%), whereas the improvements in one-repetition maximum bench press and parallel squat were greater in RT (24 and 23%, respectively) compared with CT (19 and 12%, respectively). Urinary urea nitrogen loss was greater in ET (14.6 +/- 0.9 g/24 h) than in RT (11.7 +/- 1.0 g/24 h) and CT (11.5 +/- 1.0 g/24 h) at the end of 10 wk of training. These data indicate that, although RT alone will increase BMR and muscular strength, and ET alone will increase aerobic power and decrease BF, CT will provide all of these benefits but to a lesser magnitude than RT and ET after 10 wk of training.

Objectives Physical exercise has been shown to benefit diverse medical and behavioral conditions. This study assesses the feasibility and efficacy of an 8-week endurance and resistance training program on fitness measures in individuals undergoing residential treatment for methamphetamine (MA) dependence. Methods A total of 39 MA-dependent individuals were randomized to 3 days/week of exercise training (ET, n=15) or health education without training (EA, n=14) over 8 weeks. Aerobic performance (VO2max) was measured by indirect calorimetry, body composition by skinfolds, muscle strength by 1-repetition maximum (1-RM) and endurance at 85% of 1-RM for both leg press (LP) and chest press (CP). Results A total of 29 individuals completed the study for a 74% adherence rate. Baseline characteristics (mean±SD) were balanced between groups: age 31±7 years; height=1.74±0.07 m; weight 82.0±15.0 kg. The ET group significantly improved VO2max by 0.63±0.22 L/min (+21%), LP strength by 24.4±5.6 kg (+40%) and CP strength by 20.6±5.7 kg (+49%). The ET group increased LP and CP endurance by 120% and 96%, respectively and showed significant reductions in body weight of 1.7±2.4 kg (−2%), % body fat of 2.8±1.3% (−15%) and fat weight 2.8±1.8 kg (−18%). All changes were significant (P<0.001) for ET, and no changes were seen for the EA group. Conclusions Individuals recovering from methamphetamine dependence showed substantial improvements in aerobic exercise performance, muscle strength and endurance, and body composition with exercise training. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of an exercise training intervention in these participants and also show excellent responsiveness to the exercise stimulus resulting in physiological changes that might enhance recovery from drug dependency.

Sudden cardiac deaths experienced by firefighters in the line of duty account for the largest proportion of deaths annually. Several fire service standards for fitness and wellness have been recommended but currently only 30% of U.S. fire departments are implementing programs for this purpose. The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate has initiated the Physiological Health Assessment System for Emergency Responders (PHASER) program aiming to reduce these line-of-duty deaths through an integration of medical science and sensor technologies. Confirming previous reports, PHASER comprehensive risk assessment has identified lack of physical fitness with propensity for overexertion as a major modifiable risk factor. We sought to determine if current levels of fitness and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in a contemporary cohort of firefighters were better than those reported over the past 30 years. Fifty-one firefighters from a Southern California department were characterized for physical fitness and CVD risk factors using standard measures. Overall, physical fitness and risk factors were not different from previous reports of firefighter fitness and most subjects did not achieve recommended fitness standards. Considering the lack of widespread implementation of wellness/fitness programs in the U.S. fire service together with our findings that low physical fitness and the presence of CVD risk factors persist, we issue a call to action among health and fitness professionals to assist the fire service in implementing programs for firefighters that improve fitness and reduce CVD risk factors. Fitness professionals should be empowered to work with fire departments lending their expertise to guide programs that achieve these objectives, which may then lead to reduced incidence of sudden cardiac death or stroke.

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