How Exercise Affects Sleep?

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Exercise can affect your sleep in many different ways. It can benefit shuteye, but at the same time, it may also cause insomnia. To reap the greatest rewards and ensure your exercise routine is beneficial for your sleep is to know what to do and when to do it.

Counting sheep sleep research suggests that sleep and exercising are two components that are essential for a healthy lifestyle. These two components can heavily affect each other. For example, sleep can improve your performance and help you build muscles faster, while a proper exercise routine can contribute toward building a healthy sleeping pattern. But, it is also important to know when to exercises in order for it to benefit our sleep and how to do it the right way in order to avoid insomnia. Learn how exercises affect sleep and how to sleep better by optimizing your workout routine.

Benefits of Cardio Exercises for Sleep

Studies show that people who engage in cardio and aerobic exercise sleep better than the ones who prefer strength exercising or don’t work out at all. Cardio also contributes to less daytime sleepiness and increased levels of energy during the day. The study also found that it shortens the time you need to fall asleep for 14%.

However, even with cardio exercises, you have to be cautious. If you exercise intensively, you may mess up your sleep. If you’re looking to maximize the benefits of cardio exercises for your sleep, it is recommended to have a more intensive training earlier during the day, or in the morning. If you work out in the evening, you may be too stimulated to fall asleep peacefully.

Find the Right Work Out Time

As mentioned, exercising late at night can disrupt your sleep and cause insomnia. If you engaged in higher intensity exercises, your heart rate will raise enough to stimulate not only your muscles and cardiovascular system, but also your brain and body temperature. You will not be able to hit the hay if your body is hot and your mind stimulated. In order to prepare yourself to drift off to the dreamland, your body temperature needs to be lowered, and your brain should be able to unwind.

If you are unable to shift your work out earlier in the day, try to tick the temperature with a nice and cool post-exercise shower. A cool shower will lower your body temperature and also help you relax.

Mornings Matter

If you are looking to improve your sleep as well as the effects of your exercises routine, try a morning workout. Research shows that moderate 30-minute workouts in the morning benefits sleep. Participants who worked out in the morning woke less during the night than the ones who exercise in the afternoon or evening. They also experienced a reduction in blood pressure.

Manage Your Stress Levels

If you are experiencing a lot of stress on a daily basis, a quality workout may help to unwind and sleep better at night. Exercising increases your body’s production of endorphins, makes you feel good, more positive, optimistic and relaxed. Any form of exercise should help ease daily stress stresses. So simply put, if stress is messing with your sleep, you can reduce it by exercising. While going to the gym may not be the easiest thing in the world when you’re stressed, it is recommended to try and make it a habit nonetheless. Even if you work out only 10 minutes that day, it’s better than not exercising at all.

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