Exercise is often considered one of the best medicines and, for many, that includes improving sleep.
A 2021 study showed that regular physical activity can improve sleep quality and duration. An earlier 2013 study revealed the same – adults who’d exercised for at least 30 minutes a day slept an average 15 minutes longer than those who remained sedentary. That same research found that moderate-intensity exercise improved sleep quality in insomnia patients.
And it’s those exertion levels that can potentially hinder, rather than help, you sleep with 2020 research suggesting that there may be an intensity threshold for the sleep-promoting effects of exercise. “Indeed, high-intensity exercise may elicit heightened physiological arousal and muscle soreness, counteracting the potential beneficial effects of exercise on sleep,” the study said. This is true especially if you work hard late in the day.
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Why is down to myriad factors, according to sleep expert Dr Sarah Gilchrist. “For years, the advice has been to limit late-night and hard exercise due to the effect it has on an individual in terms of levels of alertness (certain hormones circulating post-exercise), hunger, hydration and an increased core body temperature (humans need to be cool to aid sleep onset).”
“But there is good news,” Gilchrist adds. “More recent studies have reported exercise in the evening makes little difference to sleep provided it’s managed well. Key is that if you exercise in the evening, you should aim to have finished more than an hour before bedtime; in fact, the longer the better.
“In this scenario, we’re focusing on good-quality sleep over quantity. If that means hitting your bed later than normal, that’s fine. It’s better to go to bed late, enjoy a shorter but goodnight’s sleep, than tossing and turning and enduring no sleep. The following night, aim to resume a normal bedtime schedule and routine. You should also stretch, have a warm bath and enjoy a recovery snack.”
Having a warm bath seems counterintuitive if, as Gilchrist mentions, you need to be cool to aid sleep onset. But a warm bath or shower actually stimulates the body’s thermoregulatory system, causing blood circulation from the internal core to the peripheral sites of the hands and feet. That can actually help remove body heat and lower body temperature. Just make sure you leave at least an hour between easing out of your bath and into your bed.
When it comes to a recovery snack, milk continues to be a bedtime favourite thanks not only to muscle-repairing protein but also down to the amino acid tryptophan, as there’s some evidence that it helps you to sleep. There’s also research to suggest that foods that are high in melatonin – tart cherries, walnuts, tomatoes, rice and sweetcorn – may help you sleep, too. Just don’t eat or drink too much as you’ll wake in the night needing the loo.
That should all help but as Gilchrist says, “The bottom line is that regular physical activity aids sleep. It helps us get to sleep more quickly, sleep for longer and more deeply.”
Main image: Getty
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