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How Does Exercise
Improve Sleep
Did you know that people who follow a
regular exercise schedule have fewer nights of sleeplessness? It’s true.
Insomnia is not a common occurrence when exercise is part of your daily
schedule. It has also been noted that exercise promotes a better night’s
sleep by improving sleep quality. When you exercise, you experience smoother
transitions between the various cycles and phases of sleep throughout the
night. When you add exercise to your day, it has been shown that many fall
asleep faster, stay asleep more easily, and remain in the deepest “Stage 4”
sleep for a longer period of time.
For an excellent night of sleep, try
doing vigorous exercising through the daytime and a light exercise routine
at bedtime. (However, do not exercise vigorously right before bedtime. This
may hinder your ability to fall asleep.) A moderate exercise regimen of only
20 to 30 minutes three or four times every week will not only give you a
better, more restful night of sleep, but it will also increase your energy
level throughout the day.
Sleep aids have become a regular
prescription and over the counter purchase for many people. However, for
many, exercise added to your daily routine can overcome sleep problems
without the need for medications.
How is it that exercise
combats sleeplessness?
There have been two finding that are
important in relation to sleeplessness and exercise:
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Those who experience sleeplessness and
insomnia have been shown to lead more sedentary lives than those that are
good sleepers. This may be due to the fact that the normal rise and fall
of a person’s body temperature does not happen in those that do not
participate in physical activity. The disruption of this normal body
rhythm can lead to insomnia. Insomnia reduces a person’s energy, causing
their physical activity to go down even more. This fact can compound the
problem, since the decreased activity will disrupt the body’s normal
functioning even more. It is a vicious cycle of lack of activity = lack of
sleep.
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When you do exercise, there is a
significant increase in your body temperature. A few hours later, a drop
in body temperature can be measured. That drop in body temperature after
an exercise routine can make it easier for a person to fall asleep and
stay asleep through the night.
When you choose your exercises, some that
you should look at if you have difficulty sleeping are the ones that involve
significant use of your legs. That vigorous use of the leg muscles can act
like a tranquilizer, making sleep much easier to achieve.
Aerobic exercise is considered to be the
best type of activity to combat sleeplessness. This is because these
exercises allow more oxygen to enter the blood, due to the fact that you
normally breathe deeply while doing aerobic exercise. Some examples of
aerobic exercises are:
Even as little as 20 minutes a day, 4
times a week can have significant benefits. Not only will you have more
energy, but you will also find it easier to enjoy a good night’s sleep.
As stated earlier, exercising vigorously
is not something to do right before you try to go to sleep. The rise in body
temperature and the stimulation from the exercise can make it much harder to
achieve due to your muscles and circulation system working at an increased
rate. However, working out in the morning, afternoon or early evening will
normally provide you with a better night of sleep.
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