Can physical activity influence the quality of sleep among the elderly?

Introduction: Research shows that over the half of people in the age of more than fifty have got problems with lowered quality of sleep. The cause of lowered quality of sleep is i.a. waking up early, lengthened sleep latency, increased number of waking during the night or shortened time of sleep. The aim of the study was to show how significant are sleep related problems which appear after the age of fifty and how regular physical activity can improve the quality of sleep and as a result functioning of the elderly. Physical activity delays involutional changes and the process of ageing, which lets the elderly stay independent and self-reliant in everyday activities. The aim of the study: The study was to mark the connection between physical activity intensity and the quality of sleep of the elderly. 290 Material and methods: Research for the study was made by means of anonymous survey which consisted of two questionnaires: The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and The International Physical Activity Questionnaire. The survey was targeted at people in the age of over fifty. 100 people took part in the research. Results: Significant statistical correlation between early falling asleep, waking up at night or before dawn with the intensive or moderate physical effort has been obtained. Conclusions: The research has shown that people who performed intense or moderate physical activity woke up less frequently during the night, fell asleep faster and reported better quality of sleep. In addition, it has been noticed that the lowered quality of sleep has got a negative influence on i.a. energy levels and staying alert

Sleep quality disorders among the people of old and presenile age

According to the newest research over the half of geriatric population suffers from sleep disorders. Lowered quality of sleep has got a negative influence on biopsychosocial functioning of an individual. The aim of the study was to define the magnitude of the problem of sleep quality disorders occurrence in the elderly. The research for the study was carried out by means of anonymous survey which consists of two questionnaires: The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and a survey constructed for the sake of the study. 100 people took part in the study and the survey was aimed at people over the age of 50. The research showed that over one fifth of the subjects assess their sleep as rather bad and significant correlations between lengthening the time needed to fall asleep and waking up at night or before dawn and the lack of energy

Gut Biofactory—Neurocompetent Metabolites within the Gastrointestinal Tract. A Scoping Review

The gut microbiota have gained much scientific attention recently. Apart from unravelling the taxonomic data, we should understand how the altered microbiota structure corresponds to functions of this complex ecosystem. The metabolites of intestinal microorganisms, especially bacteria, exert pleiotropic effects on the human organism and contribute to the host systemic balance. These molecules play key roles in regulating immune and metabolic processes. A subset of them affect the gut brain axis signaling and balance the mental wellbeing. Neurotransmitters, short chain fatty acids, tryptophan catabolites, bile acids and phosphatidylcholine, choline, serotonin, and L-carnitine metabolites possess high neuroactive potential. A scoping literature search in PubMed/Embase was conducted up until 20 June 2020, using three major search terms “microbiota metabolites” AND “gut brain axis” AND “mental health”. This review aimed to enhance our knowledge regarding the gut microbiota functional capacity, and support current and future attempts to create new compounds for future clinical interventions

The Effect of Probiotics and Synbiotics on Risk Factors Associated with Cardiometabolic Diseases in Healthy People—A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis with Meta-Regression of Randomized Controlled Trials

We aimed to systematically review the effectiveness of probiotic/synbiotic formulations to counteract cardiometabolic risk (CMR) in healthy people not receiving adjunctive medication. The systematic search (PubMed/MEDLINE/Embase) until 1 August 2019 was performed for randomized controlled trials in >20 adult patients. Random-effect meta-analysis subgroup and meta-regression analysis of co-primary (haemoglobin A1c (HbA1C), glucose, insulin, body weight, waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI), cholesterol, low-density lipoproteins (LDL), high-density lipoproteins (HDL), triglycerides, and blood pressure) and secondary outcomes (uric acid, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1–PAI-1, fibrinogen, and any variable related to inflammation/endothelial dysfunction). We included 61 trials (5422 persons). The mean time of probiotic administration was 67.01 ± 38.72 days. Most of probiotic strains were of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium genera. The other strains were Streptococci, Enterococci, and Pediococci. The daily probiotic dose varied between 106 and 1010 colony-forming units (CFU)/gram. Probiotics/synbiotics counteracted CMR factors (endpoint data on BMI: standardized mean difference (SMD) = −0.156, p = 0.006 and difference in means (DM) = −0.45, p = 0.00 and on WC: SMD = −0.147, p = 0.05 and DM = −1.21, p = 0.02; change scores on WC: SMD = −0.166, p = 0.04 and DM = −1.35, p = 0.03) in healthy persons. Overweight/obese healthy people might additionally benefit from reducing total cholesterol concentration (change scores on WC in overweight/obese: SMD: −0.178, p = 0.049). Poor quality of probiotic-related trials make systematic reviews and meta-analyses difficult to conduct and draw definite conclusions. “Gold standard” methodology in probiotic studies awaits further development