Better sleep is associated with improved mobility in adults: a scoping review.
Catherine Siengsukon, Mahya Beheshti, Sarah J Donkers and 5 others
PMID 41498599WHAT IT FOUND
Across 107 adult studies, better sleep was usually linked with better mobility, especially walking and changing position.
No study found better sleep linked with worse mobility. This is an association, not proof that treating sleep improves mobility.
Key findings
01Of 107 included studies, 60 reported a positive association between sleep and mobility, 33 reported mixed results, and 14 reported no association.
02No study reported a negative association between sleep and mobility.
0359% of studies using only self-reported sleep reported a positive association, while 43% of studies using only objective sleep measures reported a positive association.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Study quality and risk of bias were not assessed. Sleep and mobility were measured in many different ways, which made comparison across studies difficult. 68 studies used only self-reported sleep, and some used a single question or an invalid sleep measure. Only English-language studies were included, and the search was completed in January 2024. The mobility definition excluded wheelchair mobility, driving, jumping, climbing, swimming and use of transportation. The number of studies in each health category was small, so conclusions cannot be drawn for specific conditions. The article gives different United States counts (34 in one place and 35 in another).
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that treating poor sleep will improve mobility. This scoping review only mapped associations across studies and did not assess study quality or test whether sleep treatment causes mobility gains.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →