Impact of pedometer-based walking on menopausal women's sleep quality: a randomized controlled trial

Objective Sleep disturbances are one of the most common psycho-physiological issues among postmenopausal women. This study was designed to evaluate the impact of walking with a pedometer on the sleep quality of postmenopausal Iranian women. Methods This randomized, controlled trial was conducted on 112 women who were randomly assigned to two groups. The women in the intervention group (n = 56) were asked to walk with a pedometer each day for 12 weeks and to increase their walking distance by 500 steps per week. A sociodemographic instrument and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were used to collect data. Sleep quality was measured at baseline, 4, 8, and 12 weeks after intervention. The control group (n = 56) did not receive any intervention. Results After 12 weeks, subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleeping medication, and daytime dysfunction improved to a significantly greater extent in the intervention group than in the control group (p < 0.05). The total sleep quality score was significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group (0.64 vs. 0.98, p = 0.001). Conclusion This study showed that walking with a pedometer is an easy and cost-effective way to improve the quality of sleep among postmenopausal women. Use of this method in public health centers is recommended.