Improve Your Sleep

How Exercise Can Improve Your Sleep Schedule

Establishing a regular sleeping pattern is particularly difficult, especially with the darker days and nights. Fortunately, simple lifestyle changes such as introducing exercise to your daily routine and increasing your activity levels can help to improve this.

We spoke to Dean Zweck, Product Development Manager at leading health club brand, Total Fitness, who shared his insight into how exercise can help regulate your sleep and the best exercises to help you drift off at night.

How does exercise aid sleep?

When you exercise, your body breaks down energy stores, works muscles to the point of fatigue, and takes our body outside its resting normal state. As you expend energy, your body will feel physically tired due to the stresses placed upon it through training. Your central nervous system also loses its ability to recruit and activate muscle which causes muscle fatigue, therefore making you feel tired.

Whilst it’s important not to over-exert yourself, it is normal to feel a sense of physical fatigue after exercising and this will help you to feel ready for sleep in the evening. Furthermore, an increase in your level of physical activity will also increase the amount of time spent in deep sleep, which is the most physically restorative phase of sleep. This restorative phase of sleep enhances regeneration & repair, both physical and hormonal.

There are also wellbeing benefits of exercise that can help you to get to sleep, as the endorphins released during physical activity can improve your overall mood and help combat low mood and stress, which could be interrupting your sleep.

When should I exercise to help sleep?

It’s important that you work out at a time that best suits your daily routine and you feel most motivated. Map out your day to ensure that some form of physical activity, whether that’s an intense HIIT work out or a leisurely walk, is incorporated into your day.

Slow paced exercises which place an emphasis on breathing, such as yoga, can be a great addition to your evening schedule and will help you to relax just before bed. Whilst any form of physical activity will contribute towards a better night sleep, there are some exercises that are particularly effective in helping people fall asleep:

Meditative Yoga

Yoga does not only have a multitude of physical benefits, such as strengthening muscles and improving mobility to name a few, it can also aid our wellbeing. This popular practice relieves physical tension whilst calming your mind by encouraging relaxation, through muscle tension and relaxation, deep stretches and targeting breathing. There are plenty of free yoga classes available online including meditative yoga classes which incorporates elements of meditation into the physical practice and is a great option for the evenings.

HIIT

Built up of intense exercises and a fast pace, HIIT workouts are a fantastic way to tire out your muscles and help prepare you for the deep sleep your body needs. As many of us are spending the entire day at home and at our desks, HIIT workouts are a great way to get the blood pumping and aerobic system working, which is important for your overall heath.

Walking

A brisk walk is the perfect way to get some fresh air and work your muscles. A great form of exercise for people of all fitness levels and experience, the impact a brisk walk can have on your body is not to be overlooked - 30 minutes of brisk walking will burn between 100-300 calories. In addition to this, the change of scenery will provide stimulation and a much-needed break from screens, which can be disruptive to our sleep.

Swimming

Swimming is a high-intensity exercise that engages all the muscle groups in your body, including the large muscles in your shoulders, chest, quads and abdominals. Using all these muscles means that a lot of energy will be expended whilst swimming, so your body will need plenty of time (and sleep) to repair and recover. What’s more, our bodies also use up energy trying to maintain a warm body temperature whilst we swim - this leads to a greater fatigue than other high intensity forms of exercise.

Midlife Madness

It’s usually about now (mid-January) that the Christmas chaos has been cleared up – the presents that were opened with dubious joy or downright distaste have been stacked for inspection later and there are the beginnings of serious attempts to ‘get back to normal’ and by that, I mean stop midday drinking – I’m not pretending it will be a dry January but at least we won’t have days in a row when we start before lunch. Some sort of routine is usually been re-established – often we have work to thank for that and that’s when I undertake a sort of review of the presents that weren’t put to immediate use.

Over the years I realise there is often a theme, during the years of the pandemic presents seemed to be all about comfort, at home spa sets, lovely chocs and wine and some really good recipe books. But this year there seemed to be some differences and the combined ‘messages’ were very different.

An aunt bought me a gym membership!!! Only for a month mind you but when did I ever say that I wanted to join a gym!! It was clear certain sectors of the family were in cahoots as there were also presents of active wear, a yoga mat and a Pilates ball – no subtlety there then.

So, clearly, they want me to shape up – all I’m going to say is it is a darned good job none of the aforementioned articles were bought by hubby dear!!!! He may not have remained as hubby dear!!

Then there were the cook books – the Dr Mosely blood sugar diet – really! I mean what is wrong with carbs (don’t answer that it could become an argument) but I never said I wanted to forgo the food pleasures of this life! I did get some alcohol which sort of evened it out but of course that’s all gone now!! almost at a loss for words. Books, quotes calendars or fridge magnets. Some of the books were journals encouraging me to write down every day my thoughts and feelings. Well if I did that I think it would only be a matter of weeks before the police or those lovely folk in white coats turn up. There were books that encourage me to set daily and weekly goals. Honestly, some days my main goal is getting out of bed and not killing anyone before breakfast! There were books that encouraged reflections – well that’s a sure-fire way to a breakdown!! There was a set of happy cards you know with those positive words for each day – I did find there was a degree of help in arguing the toss about why I shouldn’t necessarily be happy on particular days!

There was also an assortment of ‘healing crystals’ and even a book of spells – now that contained some interesting reading.

The thing that really upset me the most was what they must think about me – presumably overweight and unfit – I can probably live with that although actually I wouldn’t class myself as overweight. I might not be particularly fit but I’m happy with myself isn’t that important too, isn’t todays rhetoric all about accepting ourselves as we are.

But it’s clearly not just about my body is it – they either think I need a personality transplant or that at the very least I could do with some ‘improvement’. This is my family and closest friends – and here I was thinking they liked me, no, more than that, they cared for me. Well it just goes to show how wrong you can be. So, my advice to you is that yes, it is the thought that counts –but not just the thought of the giver – what will the recipient think. What thoughts will your gifts give them?

Since then I have used the counselling voucher I got as I need therapy following all their gifts!!