1: “Sleep and physical exertion have a bidirectional relationship,” writes Dr. Matthew Walker in Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams.
“Many of us know of the deep, sound sleep we often experience after sustained physical activity,” he notes, “such as a daylong hike, an extended bike ride, or even an exhausting day of working in the garden.”
The research shows that exercise increases sleep time and sleep quality for both younger, healthy adults and midlife and older adults, including those who are self-reported poor sleepers or those with clinically diagnosed insomnia.
“Subjective sleep quality improves,” Matthew writes, “as does total amount of sleep. Moreover, the time it takes participants to fall asleep is usually less, and they report waking up fewer times across the night.”
In another study, “older adult insomniacs were sleeping almost one hour more each night, on average, by the end of a four-month period of increased physical activity,” he notes.
However, there was an unexpected finding. There was a “lack of a tight relationship between exercise and subsequent sleep from one day to the next,” Matthew reports. That is, subjects did not consistently sleep better at night on the days they exercised compared with the days when they were not required to exercise, as one would expect.”
2: That said, he observes, there “is still a clear bidirectional relationship, with a significant trend toward increasingly better sleep with increasing levels of physical activity, and a strong influence of sleep on daytime physical activity.”
Not only does exercise benefit sleep, but sleep also benefits our fitness and energy, leading to a positive, self-sustaining cycle of better physical and mental health.
“Participants also feel more alert and energetic as a result of the sleep improvement,” Matthew writes, “and signs of depression proportionally decrease.”
The bottom line: When we exercise, we sleep better, and when we sleep better, we feel better and are more likely to exercise.
3: Matthew offers one final insight regarding physical activity: “Try not to exercise right before bed. Body temperature can remain high for an hour or two after physical exertion. Should this occur too close to bedtime, it can be difficult to drop our core temperature sufficiently to initiate sleep due to the exercise-driven increase in metabolic rate.”
More tomorrow!
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Reflection: Do I notice a difference in my sleep better when I exercise?
Action: Commit to exercising more to increase my quantity and quality of sleep.
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