Sleep is vital to a healthy life.  But it can evade us.  Hundreds of research studies clearly show exercise can help us sleep.  We all know that somewhat intuitively.  We see kids playing physically and comment: “They’ll sleep well tonight.”

But research is not definitive for what provides optimal sleep. When should we exercise, how intensely, and what type of movement is best are all up in the air.   The research is unclear, in part, because the answer seems to vary based on age, sex, chronic illness, and possibly fitness level.

Not having a definitive answer can feel overwhelming.  But it can also be empowering. It means that you have room to experiment and see what works for you.

For years the mainstream advise was to do moderate cardio exercise in the morning because if you worked out late in the day, it would keep you up.  Recent studies have contradicted that.  Later workouts help some people sleep better.  Workouts do raise our body temperature, cortisol levels, and heart rate.  None of those help us sleep so you do need 1-2 hours after a workout to wind down.

While it’s still speculative, morning workouts appear to produce melatonin at night, while evening workouts may improve REM sleep.  That means if you have trouble falling asleep you might want to try an AM workout.  If you have trouble staying asleep a PM workout might be ideal.

Across the board it seems a higher end moderate workout is generally good for improving our zzz’s.  For intensity think of a scale from 1-10.  Yoga and Pilates would be 1-3, vigorous exercises like a spring to HIIT would be 8-10.  Moderate is 4-7.  You’d want to be on the higher end of moderate—that 6 or 7 level.  Winded and sweating, but able to speak.

But let’s say you’re doing that and your sleep isn’t improved, maybe your body needs a little more vigorous work.  Current research indicates 10-15 minutes of HIIT up to 3 times a week is a sweet spot for some.  That’s hitting an intensity level 10 for short bursts.  Studies also indicate that vigorous exercise for more than a total of 30-40 minutes per weak may disrupt sleep.

Not a fan of cardio?  Strength might be a good option for you. A  German study came out few years ago looking at over 20k people.  It found that people who did 2 days or more of strength training self reported better sleep.  It was correlation not causation, but it is worth exploring if cardio hasn’t helped you drift off at bedtime.

Also consider taking your workout outdoors. An hour or more outside has been found to help our circadian rhythm (which ties in with sleep).  So exercising in the great outdoors is like a 2 for 1.  You can get the benefits of both.

All types of exercise from gentle yoga to intense moves can help reduce stress and therefore help with sleep.  But there appear to be other factors at work too.

The two following moves may also be helpful.  From babies to seniors, we sleep better when rocked.  So find a fluid, flowing rocking movement before bed (see video).  And, once in bed, either before falling asleep or if you wake up consider muscle tension and release.  It’s just like what it sounds.  Tense your muscles and release them.  You can do the whole body or part by part.  People often say they don’t like the way it feels to tense the muscles.  If that part is a turn off, be more gentle in the activation. This exercise is more about the release anyway.  It is not all or nothing.

I have trouble staying asleep.  Perhaps I should try evening workouts (which are not my general mode of operation), but muscle tension and release helps me fall back to sleep about 80% of the time.

I hope you can use exercise as a useful tool for sleep.  We require good sleep.  And it’s a cycle.  Good sleep improves workouts.  Good workouts improve sleep.   Also, remember, it’s more important to make time for a workout than to break a good habit trying to alter your workout routine to try to make yourself sleep better.  Ultimately, just KEEP MOVING!

Enjoy your next rest.  And I’d love to hear if you’ve found a good move that helps you fall asleep or stay asleep.

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