Promoting Sleep Through Exercise

Getting enough sleep and enough exercise are both vital to a healthy mind and body.  However, there is a strong link between one and the other.  Better exercise often can equal better sleep.  Let's find out more!

You're more likely to get a good night's sleep if you perform moderate exercise for at least 150 minutes a week - that's only 30 minutes a day for five days. This finding from Oregon State University comes after reviewing data on more than 3,000 adults between ages 18 and 85 who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. 

For a week after they were examined, the study participants wore an accelerometer on their right hip for a week. Results showed that those who did moderate exercise for 150 minutes or vigorous exercise for 75 minutes or a combination during that week had a 65 percent better quality of sleep than those who didn't put in the same amounts of time. What's more, those who did a full week's requirement of exercise reported feeling less tired during the day and having fewer leg cramps during sleep than the other participants. 

The study was published in the December issue of the journal of Mental Health and Physical Activity. Earlier research has linked poor sleep quality to increased inflammation in the body, high blood pressure and increased blood glucose levels and insulin resistance among people with type 2 diabetes.

Original Article Here

Have you seen the correlation between getting exercise and a good nights sleep?  

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