How Exercise Positively Affects Sleep

It is no secret that exercise and getting quality sleep are core principles to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. New research indicates that for those suffering from sleep diseases like insomnia and sleep apnea, exercise may be just the thing they need. Exercise has been proven to increase the amount of slow wave one gets while sleeping. Slow wave sleep is the part of sleep in which the mind and body is able to recover and is crucial to get the body to naturally go to sleep.

The research indicates that the timing of exercising may also be crucial to this correlation. Some find that exercise too close to bedtime may actually keep them alert and awake. This may be the case due to two main factors: the release of endorphins and the increase of core body temperature. Aerobic exercise increases hormone releases such as adrenaline which cause heightened senses of alertness and a burst of energy. The movements also increase body temperature which is not beneficial to sleep as ideally core temperature should be lower to maximize sleep. For these reasons it is best to exercise 90 minutes before bed. In this time, the body temperature will drop and the hormones will no longer be in effect. This creates perfect conditions for sleep.

This research is especially exciting because it is shown that as little as 30 minutes of exercise can majorly impact the quality of sleep. As Charlene Galmado, an export in the area states, “It’s generally not going to take months or years to see a benefit,” “And patients don’t need to feel like they have to train for the Boston Marathon to become a better sleeper.”