How Regular Exercise Affects Sleep Quality
Exercise has numerous health and lifestyle benefits. It increases strength, heart health, mental wellbeing, and lowers risk of disease. One of the lesser known benefits of exercise is how it can greatly improve your sleep quality. Regular exercise can help you fall asleep faster and sleep more deeply.
The most obvious benefit that regular exercise has on sleep is how much faster you can fall asleep. Exercise takes away feelings of mild anxiety, tiredness, and helps relieve the mind of the worries of the day. It also increases body temperature, which in turn signals the body that it is ready for sleep.
When performed in the late afternoon or evening, exercise can help regulate melatonin, the hormone that notifies your body when it is time to sleep. Taken together, these benefits can have a huge positive impact on your sleep quality and overall wellbeing.
Falling Asleep Faster
Exercise inherently improves sleep for multiple reasons. Exercise helps your body relax after a hard workout and releases helpful hormones and biochemicals that help you fall asleep faster. The more you exercise, the more balanced your body’s sleep cycle will become.
The endorphin released after exercising is one of the main reasons why people sleep better. Endorphins are known to do many things for our body, such as reduce pain, boost energy, and even improve mental health. Other hormones such as serotonin and dopamine help with relaxation and improved mood, which are necessary for a good night of sleep.
Deeper and More Refreshing Sleep
Aside from being able to fall asleep faster, exercise helps to improve sleep quality and make it deeper and more refreshing. Exercise strengthens muscles and increases the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the body, improving your body’s overall health. This combined with the improved release of biochemicals in the body promote a very deep and restful sleep.
On top of improving sleep quality, regular exercise helps create a regular sleeping pattern. Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day helps to keep your body in a rhythm and make sure you get enough sleep. Having a regular sleep cycle also prevents late night snacking, which can disrupt your sleep.
Exercising can also reduce stress levels. Exercise not only relaxes your body muscles but also gives you a mental and emotional break that can be very helpful in reducing stress and anxiety levels.
The Benefits of Exercise for Better Sleep Quality
- Exercise helps the body relax after a hard workout and release helpful hormones and biochemicals that help you fall asleep faster.
- Endorphins released after exercising reduce pain, boost energy, and improve mental health.
- Endorphins combined with serotonin and dopamine help with relaxation and improved mood necessary for good sleep.
- Regular exercise helps create a regular sleeping pattern, strengthening muscles and increasing the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the body to increase sleep quality.
- Exercise helps to reduce stress and anxiety levels.
Conclusion
Overall, regular exercise can lead to improved sleep quality and the creation of a regular sleeping pattern. Exercise helps relax the body and reduce stress, and can help produce helpful hormones and biochemicals that help us sleep better. Good sleep is vital for day to day life, mental health, and wellbeing. Thus, it is very important that we take the necessary precautions to sleep better, and regular exercise is a great way to do it.