It is widely known that exercise reduces stress and anxiety. This particular effect of exercise on us, when we actually do exercise, contributes to our overall well-being, including sleep.
Why? because anxiety and stress are elements that contribute to inhibit sleep.
Most of us have exercised some time. After a good workout we feel relaxed and in a good mood, factors that contribute to a good night’s sleep.
What is the physiological effect of exercise in our bodies that enhances sleep?
It could be that exercise, on a regular basis, contributes to improving our physical fitness. This improved fitness contributes to our brain’s fitness. So our brain produces more serotonin, a substance that boosts sleep.
Another thing that might contribute to improve our sleep is the effect that exercise has on our body temperature. We all know that our temperature increases when we are working out, and right after our workout ends we cool down. This process could be preparing our body for sleep.
It is recommended that the time we do our workouts is not too close to our bedtime, since the stimulating effect of exercise can oppose the process of falling asleep. If we end our workouts at least 2 hours before our bedtime, we can get rid of this interference.
A daily routine that includes exercise helps establish a regular pattern, which enhances a consistent circadian clock that contributes to falling asleep at bedtime.
Exercise is beneficial to our overall health, it improves our fitness, it helps us prevent illness, and it also improves sleep. These effects have been corroborated numerous times by research.
The sleep-benefits of exercise are that we fall asleep faster, we get more deep sleep during our sleep time, and we wake up less during the night.
There is no doubt that exercise enhances sleep, so please take it seriously and improve your overall health through regular exercise…and sleep…