The Effectiveness of Yoga on the Sleep Quality in Older Men

Poor sleep quality is one of the most common challenges faced by the older adults. Due to the many changes that occur during old age, doing some sports seems to be difficult for older adults. Yoga can be considered as a suitable option for anyone, at any age and with any physical condition, to improve the sleep quality of older adults. Therefore, the current research was conducted with the aim of determining the effectiveness of yoga on the sleep quality in older adults. This was a quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population included all the older men who were member of day rehabilitation centers in Yazd, Iran in 2020, among whom 30 older men (65 to 80 years old) were selected using convenience sampling and according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, and were randomly assigned into experimental and control groups (15 people in each group). The data collection tool was the Petersburg sleep quality test. a 12-week intervention, attending two 90-minute sessions per week in the rehabilitation center, while the control group did not receive any yoga exercise program during this period. Research data were analyzed through univariate analysis of covariance in SPSS-22 software. The findings of the research showed that yoga has a positive effect on the quality of sleep of people over 60 years old and improves performance in this area. As a result, according to the findings, it is possible to advise the older adults to take advantages of yoga as a suitable method to increase their health and sleep quality.