Physical activity and sleep
Research indicates that being more active can help you sleep better. Additionally, adults with insomnia tend to be less active than those without insomnia, creating a link between sleep problems and a lack of exercise.
Exercising for better sleep might sound silly, but it makes sense considering that exercise tires you out and taps into your energy reserves. The more you exercise, the more rest you need for recovery.
The best part is that aerobic exercise, resistance training, yoga, tai chi, and endurance training can improve sleep – giving you many ways to get a sweat. You can exercise your way without any pressure to join a gym.
How moving more helps you sleep.
Exercise increases the time spent with an elevated heart rate and increased blood flow, which reduces the secretion of stress hormones and stimulates the production of endorphins, which together help foster relaxation.
Many people struggle to sleep because they have stress and anxiety, which increases stress hormones in the body, triggering a fight-or-flight response that keeps you awake by suppressing melatonin, the sleep hormone.
When you exercise, cortisol (stress hormone) production reduces, helping you relax, and dopamine and serotonin (happy hormones) increase. This helps regulate your mood, giving you a mental boost that can help you sleep.
Another recent study found that strength training creates a molecule called adenosine, which causes drowsiness and mental fatigue. This means that strength training two-three before bedtime can help you fall asleep.
This meta-analysis of studies on the effect of exercise on primary insomnia (sleeplessness that is not attributable to any reason) found that movement has a significant positive impact on insomnia, improving sleep quality in all age groups.
The antidepressant and anti-anxiety effects of exercise
Numerous studies have found antidepressant and anti-anxiety effects of training, a critical link between exercise and sleep.
Depression and anxiety often co-occur with insomnia, which are core symptoms of one another. Depressed people are more likely to have insomnia, and people with insomnia have a twofold risk of developing depression.
Exercise is an antidepressant with similar qualities to antidepressant medication. People who exercise are happier and have a greater sense of enjoyment in life.
The effects are powerful enough for the NHS to say that regular exercise can boost your mood if you have depression and is especially useful for people with mild to moderate depression. They recommend doing 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity each week, which equates to around twenty minutes per day.
Additionally, the Anxiety & Depression Association of America lists exercise as one of the best natural remedies for stress and anxiety.
How to boost your exercise numbers on the fly
The best way to exercise is to get 20-30 minutes each day of the week, but you don’t necessarily need to stick to a routine.
Here’s how to boost your exercise on the fly:
- Bash out ten press-ups every hour you are awake.
- Start walking or cycling instead of driving
- Jog on the spot for five minutes every day
- Get a pull-up bar for between a door frame
- Stretch in the morning (YouTube yoga is excellent for this)
- Do some housework for an hour
- Stand up more (versus sitting down)
- Park your car further away from the shop to increase walking distance.
All these exercise tips will increase your total calorie burn for the day and help increase your time with an elevated heart rate. However, we still recommend getting at least twenty minutes of medium-intensity daily exercise for the best results.
Summing up
Moving more can help you sleep better by reducing stress hormones and releasing endorphins that make you drowsy. If you can’t sleep, twenty minutes of exercise per day - or simply walking more - could help you nod off.
If you enjoyed this article, read our sleep and mental health piece.