{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]],"date-time":"2026-08-31T10:16:51Z","timestamp":1788171411478,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]],"date-time":"2026-08-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788134400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), Brazil","award":["88887.841787\/2023-00"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["88887.841787\/2023-00"]}]},{"award":["88887.841787\/2023-00"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["88887.841787\/2023-00"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00x0ma614","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Foundation for Research Support of the Federal District (FAPDF), Brazil","award":["00193-00002602\/2022-69"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["00193-00002602\/2022-69"]}]},{"name":"Foundation for Research Support of the Federal District (FAPDF), Brazil","award":["623\/2022"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["623\/2022"]}]},{"award":["00193-00002602\/2022-69"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["00193-00002602\/2022-69"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04djvx395","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["623\/2022"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["623\/2022"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04djvx395","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Med. Sci.","Medical Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Age-related cognitive decline is a major public health challenge, and modifiable lifestyle factors such as physical exercise and sleep have emerged as promising targets for preserving cognitive health. Our review aimed to synthesize evidence on the relationships between physical exercise, sleep, and cognitive performance in adults aged \u226560 years, with particular emphasis on the potential mediating or moderating role of sleep. Methods: Electronic searches were conducted in PubMed\/MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar to identify studies published between 2015 and 2025. Eligible studies evaluated structured exercise interventions or habitual physical activity and reported at least one sleep outcome alongside at least one cognitive outcome. Results: Twelve studies met the inclusion criteria, comprising randomized controlled trials, non-randomized intervention studies, and observational studies. Moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, multicomponent training, and mind\u2013body interventions were the most frequently investigated exercise modalities. Across studies, exercise was generally associated with improved sleep quality and maintenance or enhancement of cognitive performance. Several studies identified sleep quality or sleep efficiency as potential mediators or moderators of exercise-related cognitive benefits; however, heterogeneity in study designs, interventions, sleep assessments, and cognitive outcomes precluded conclusions regarding causality. Conclusions: Current evidence suggests that sleep may represent an important behavioral pathway through which exercise contributes to cognitive health in older adults. Further well-designed randomized controlled trials incorporating objective sleep measures and mechanistic biomarkers are warranted to clarify these relationships.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medsci14050532","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]],"date-time":"2026-08-31T09:21:19Z","timestamp":1788168079000},"page":"532","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Exercise, Sleep, and Cognitive Performance in Older Adults: A Structured Review of Mechanisms and Clinical Implications"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Elton Fernando Ferreira de Souza","family":"Vieira","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Bras\u00edlia, Bras\u00edlia 70910-900, Brazil"},{"name":"Faculty of Physical Education, University of Bras\u00edlia, Bras\u00edlia 70910-900, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8931-9533","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Raphael Lopes","family":"Oleg\u00e1rio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Bras\u00edlia, Bras\u00edlia 70910-900, Brazil"},{"name":"University Hospital of Bras\u00edlia, University of Bras\u00edlia, Bras\u00edlia 70830-900, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cl\u00e1udia","family":"Goulart","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Bras\u00edlia, Bras\u00edlia 70910-900, Brazil"},{"name":"Faculty of Physical Education, University of Bras\u00edlia, Bras\u00edlia 70910-900, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1775-7176","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ot\u00e1vio Toledo","family":"N\u00f3brega","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Bras\u00edlia, Bras\u00edlia 70910-900, Brazil"},{"name":"University Hospital of Bras\u00edlia, University of Bras\u00edlia, Bras\u00edlia 70830-900, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5238-9236","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Emmanuel","family":"Frimpong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health, Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H4B 1R6, Canada"},{"name":"Centre de Recherche de l\u2019Institut Universitaire de G\u00e9riatrie de Montr\u00e9al (CRIUGM), Montreal, QC H3W 1W5, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7984-514X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Arsenio","family":"Paez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health, Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H4B 1R6, Canada"},{"name":"Centre de Recherche de l\u2019Institut Universitaire de G\u00e9riatrie de Montr\u00e9al (CRIUGM), Montreal, QC H3W 1W5, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7235-2721","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Thien Thanh","family":"Dang-Vu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health, Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H4B 1R6, Canada"},{"name":"Centre de Recherche de l\u2019Institut Universitaire de G\u00e9riatrie de Montr\u00e9al (CRIUGM), Montreal, QC H3W 1W5, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Einstein Francisco","family":"Camargos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Bras\u00edlia, Bras\u00edlia 70910-900, Brazil"},{"name":"University Hospital of Bras\u00edlia, University of Bras\u00edlia, Bras\u00edlia 70830-900, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Shu, W., Chen, L., Qiu, J., and Kim, S.M. 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