Sweat to Sleep: How Exercise Improves Your ZZZs

Do you often have trouble getting to sleep at night? Have you ever climbed into bed with that feeling of restlessness that keeps you laying there for hours without being able to actually fall asleep? 

If you experience this issue often, you may not be active enough during the day. If you aren’t burning your energy during the day, it can keep you up at night. 

Being active and exercising is important for more than just your overall health. Exercise can actually increase your quality and quantity of sleep. 

How Exercise Affects Your Sleep 

The connection between our sleep and our daily activity is apparent and proven. There are several ways exercise improves your sleep: 

1. It Reduces Stress And Anxiety 

Regular exercise can help alleviate your stress and anxiety, leaving you feeling more relaxed and less tense when it’s time to fall asleep. Rather than laying in bed worrying about your job or other stressors, you’ll be able to go to sleep with a clearer mind. 

2. It Helps You Fall Asleep Faster 

A study at Northwestern University showed that exercise can help cure insomnia. The results proved that participants had an easier time falling asleep after regular aerobic exercise. The participants even reported less daytime sleepiness after becoming more active. 

3. You Experience Better Quality Sleep 

There are many unknowns about how exactly we sleep, but experts say each stage of sleep is vital to a good night’s rest. When you miss out on one stage, your body will compensate by giving more time to that stage next time you sleep. For healthy sleep, you want to be consistent. With regular exercise, you will experience a balanced sleep consistently. 

4. Physical Activity Increases Sleep Duration 

The more energy you expend, the more tired you will be at the end of the day. When your body is tired, you require more rest to restore your energy, so exercising will result in increased quantity of sleep. 

Timing Your Exercise 

Although exercise will help you sleep, it is not recommended to exercise right before bedtime. This will overstimulate your body and mind giving you the opposite of the desired effect. 

Finding the right time for your exercise routine is up to your personal preference. Some people prefer to do early morning workouts while others like to exercise in the middle of the day. Exercising in the evening may also work best for you, just try to avoid vigorous exercise 2-3 hours before bedtime. 

How Much Should You Exercise? 

The recommended amount of exercise for a healthy adult is 150 minutes a week, which amounts to 30 minutes a day, five days a week. 

To improve your sleep routine, you should work on developing a consistent exercise routine to help you develop healthy sleeping patterns. 

Why Your Sleep Matters 

Healthy, consistent sleep is an essential part of living a fully healthy lifestyle. If you lose out on sleep regularly, you can experience insomnia or other sleep disorders. The dangers of this include trouble concentrating, increased anxiety, high blood pressure, obesity, and other serious health problems. 

Your body also heals while you sleep. When you are regularly working out, you need to make sure you’re getting the restorative sleep that you need to rejuvenate your muscles and body. When you’re active, it’s especially important to personalize your sleep so you don’t wake up in pain. This includes eliminating light sources, blocking outside noise disruptions, and finding the right mattress for your sleeping style to ensure your body has the support and comfort it needs. 

For your best night’s sleep, follow these tips: 

● Be consistent: Go to sleep and wake up at the same time each night to set your body’s clock into rhythm. 

● Try light yoga before bed: Stretching is important to a good exercise routine and it can also help relax your body and mind before bedtime. 

● Take a warm bath: Increasing your body temperature before bedtime will help you experience the temperature drop you need to fall into a deep sleep. 

● Use essential oils: Lavender and chamomile are known to help you relax and sleep better. 

● Avoid sugar and caffeine: Skip out on the desserts at the restaurant and avoid the coffee, candy, and cookies if possible too close to bed.

● Turn down the temperature: The ideal temperature for sleeping is between 65-68 degrees Fahrenheit so you can experience the temperature drop necessary for deep sleep.

Getting enough high quality sleep on a consistent basis is crucial for reaching your fitness goals and staying healthy. Keep the above tips in mind and get some more Z's.

I hope you enjoyed this article about why you need to sweat to sleep and improve your sleeping without spending much money.

Interested in more articles about how to improve sleep? 

Read My Posts:

- Sleep Your Way To Improved Health

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