Optimal Exercise Time for Sleep

Exercising in the morning can set a positive tone for the day, but for those who aren't early risers, a pre-workout session might feel daunting. 

Many people prefer to hit the gym or do yoga in the evenings. While any exercise is beneficial, if you're aiming to improve your sleep, it's wise to avoid intense workouts close to bedtime.

Research from Sports Medicine in 2018 indicated that vigorous exercise within an hour before bed could reduce total sleep time and make it harder to fall asleep.

However, not all exercises have the same impact.

High-intensity activities like HIIT, CrossFit, and running can spike your heart rate and core body temperature, potentially affecting sleep.

Yet, a new study suggests that three minutes of bodyweight exercises, performed every half hour over four hours, might enhance sleep quality.

This study involved 30 participants aged 18 to 40, who wore fitness watches to track their activity and sleep over seven days.

Each participant completed two four-hour sessions on the same day of the week, with at least six days between sessions.

In the first session, they remained sedentary for four hours before bed.

In the second session, they performed simple bodyweight exercises—three 20-second rounds of chair squats, calf raises, and standing knee raises with straight-leg extensions, followed by 40 seconds of rest—every 30 minutes for four hours before sleeping.

The findings revealed that after the second session, participants slept an additional 27 minutes on average.

"Our study showed that interrupting evening sitting time by doing three minutes of exercise every 30 minutes improved sleep duration," explains Jen Gale, a researcher in sedentary behavior and co-author of the study published in BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine.

"The key is to break up the time you spend sitting in the evening before bed."

She adds, "You could likely achieve similar results by marching in place, dancing around the living room, or engaging in any activity that suits you and your household."

Thus, incorporating brief bursts of evening exercise might be the way to go.

Source: womenshealthmag

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