The effect of aerobic exercise of different intensity on anxiety level, smoking addiction, sleep and quality of life in individuals who stop smoking

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects different intensities of aerobic exercises on anxiety level, smoking addiction, sleep and quality of life in individuals who quit smoking. 60 individuals between the ages of 18-45 who quit smoking in the last 1 month participated in the study. Individuals were randomly assigned to the control group (mean age 32.10±6.77), mild aerobic exercise group (mean age 33.10±5.07) and moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (mean age 34.00±5.15) groups. Aerobic exercise training was applied for 8 weeks/3 days as warm-up (10 min), aerobic exercise (30 min) and cool-down (5 min). Mild-intensity aerobic exercise group (n=20) performed submaximal aerobic exercise at 40% of the maximal heart rate (MHR), and moderate-intensity aerobic exercise group (n=20) performed 60% of MHR. The control group (n=20) continued their normal activities of daily living during this time. Anxiety level was assessed with Beck Anxiety Scale (BAI), nicotine addiction were measured with Fagerstrom Test For Nicotine Dependence (FTND) and Substance Craving Scale (SCS), sleep quality was assessed Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), quality of life was evaluated with Quality of Life Short Form – 36 (SF 36). All measurement performed before and after the study. All participants showed improvement in anxiety level (BAI), item craving (SCS), and total and subdomians of PSQI (subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, sleep disturbance, and daytime dysfunction) during the study (p<0.05). The body pain and social function subdomains of quality of life (SF-36) were improved in the control group. Aerobic exercise groups showed improvement in all subdomains (p<0.05). In the comparison of the first and last evaluations between the groups; There was no difference in BAI and SF-36 scores (p>0.05), but the SCS score of the moderate-intensity aerobic exercise group was lower than the other two groups before and after the study (p<0.05). At the first evaluation, only in the sleep disorder subdomain and total scores of PSQI were found significantly differences. The sleep disorder score of the mild aerobic exercise group was higher than the control group (p<0.05), but there was no difference between the final evaluations (p>0.05). As a result, we concluded that 8-week aerobic exercises are effective in reducing smoking addiction, eliminating sleep disorders and increasing the quality of life in individuals who quit smoking. Especially moderate intensity aerobic exercises reduce craving more. There is a need for longer-term studies that include high-intensity aerobic exercise and compare different types of exercise.