Exercise and Insomnia Study: The Effects of 1 Week of Exercise Training on Insomnia Severity

Limited experimental research has explored the effects of acute exercise training (\< 1 week of exercise) on sleep and daytime impairment in samples of adults who meet diagnostic criteria for insomnia. In response to the current literature, the investigators aim to better understand the short-term clinical benefit of adopting exercise training in insomnia. Including multiple bouts of exercise in a short time span while measuring sleep with objective and self-reported measures may be more reflective of capturing true acute effects of exercise implementation on insomnia. The investigators propose to conduct a randomized parallel design to compare the effects of short-term moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on insomnia severity and measures of sleep in a sample of adults who meet diagnostic criteria for insomnia. This project will address prior limitations in the area of acute exercise research by utilizing a sample with diagnosed insomnia, assessing multiple nights of sleep, and implementing multiple bouts of exercise stimuli. This project will examine the following aims: Aim 1: To examine if implementing 1 week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise improves objective and subjective sleep compared to 1 week without exercise in a sample of adults who meet diagnostic criteria for insomnia. Aim 2: To examine if implementing 1 week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise reduces severity of daytime impairment compared to 1 week without exercise in a sample of adults who meet diagnostic criteria for insomnia.