Regular exercise is one of the best ways to improve your sleep quality. According to the U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, quality sleep can help boost your overall mood, reduce stress, and lower your risk of serious health conditions, like diabetes and heart disease. So, if you’re finding yourself becoming more and more restless every night, it might be time to change up your exercise routine. Here are 5 reasons why exercise might improve sleep.
1. Relieves
stress
Cortisol, aka,
the stress hormone is a type of hormone that rises in level the more stressed
out you become. It can greatly affect the quality and duration of your sleep.
According to a 2021 research review from Biomolecules, taking a brisk walk and
doing high-intensity training can help with lowering your cortisol level which
may result in better sleep.
2. Establishes a
solid sleep-wake cycle
Your sleep-wake
cycle is called a circadian rhythm, it tells you when you should be sleeping
and when you should be waking up. It’s possible to develop a sleeping disorder
due to a disruption in the circadian rhythm. According to an article review
from 2019 by Brendan M. Gabriel and Juleen R. Zierath, adjusting your workout
schedule to fit your circadian rhythm may alleviate sleep disturbance.
3. Helps relieve
sleep disorder symptoms
If you are
experiencing symptoms of sleep disorder, then it might be time you take
exercise more seriously. A study in 2021 suggests that regular physical
activities help adults with insomnia and sleep apnea symptoms and improve their
sleeping patterns.
4. Improves the
quality of your sleep
Exercise can also
improve your quality of sleep. A randomized controlled trial in 2020 suggests
that high-intensity training specifically improves your total sleep time, sleep
efficiency (the ratio of sleep time to the time spent in bed), and
wake-after-sleep onset (the amount of time spent awake after falling asleep).
5. Makes it
easier to fall asleep
Physically
demanding activities often increase your need to go to sleep. It’s easier to
fall asleep when you’re tired. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention), the pressure to go to sleep (homeostatic sleep drive)
builds up gradually the longer you stay awake. It lowers with a night of
quality sleep and builds up again the next day. Exercise, in particular, increases
your homeostatic sleep drive and makes falling asleep much much easier.
Source: https://www.healthline.com/health/5-reasons-exercise-improves-sleep
