Resistance training improves sleep quality, redox balance and inflammatory profile in maintenance hemodialysis patients: a randomized controlled trial

Patients in maintenance hemodialisys (HD) present sleep disorders, increased inflammation, unbalanced redox profiles, and elevated biomarkers representing endothelial dysfunction. Resistance training (RT) has shown to mitigate the loss of muscle mass, strength, improve inflammatory profiles, and endothelial function while decreasing oxidative stress for those in HD. However, the relation between those factors and sleep quality are inadequately described. The aim of this study was to verify the effects of 3 months of RT on sleep quality, redox balance, nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability, inflammation profile, and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) in patients undergoing HD. Our primary goal was to describe the role of RT on sleep quality. Our secondary goal was to evaluate the effect of RT on NO, metabolism markers, and inflammatory and redox profiles as potential mechanisms to explain RT—induced sleep quality changes. Fifty-five men undergoing maintenance hemodialysis were randomized into either a control (CTL, n = 25) and RT group (RTG; n = 30). Participants in the RT group demonstrated an improvement in sleep pattern, redox, inflammatory profiles, and biomarkers of endothelial function (NO2− and ADMA). This group also increased muscle strength (total workload in RT exercises of upper and lower limbs). These findings support that RT may improve the clinical status of HD patients by improving their sleep quality, oxidative and inflammatory parameters.