We already know that exercise is good for us.
Would you still want to wear your gym clothes if you could get almost five more hours sleep each week?
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Scientists have discovered that certain exercises can increase sleep quality, allowing you to fall asleep quicker and staying asleep longer.
Insufficient sleep can lead to poor health.
However, most people do not prioritize their bedtimes because they are so busy.
Sleep deprivation is associated with weight gain, high cholesterol and high blood pressure, as well as diabetes and inflammation. These factors can all increase your risk of stroke and heart attack.
Experts divided more than 400 obese people into four groups to discover how exercise can improve sleep.
The first group was not active, while the second and third groups did aerobic exercise like running or cycling. Finally, the fourth and fifth groups did resistance training, and the fourth combined aerobic with resistance exercise.
Participants exercised for three hours a week for a year, according to findings presented at the American Heart Association Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle & Cardiometabolic Health Conference.
Participants in the study also provided information about their sleep quality, length of sleep and whether they spent any time asleep.
The study revealed that 35% of respondents had poor sleep habits at the start.
Experts evaluated how long it took for people dropping off, as well as sleep disturbances such snoring, coughing or needing to go to the bathroom.
The top-rated exercise was one that improves sleep.
Angelique Brellenthin (Iowa State University, USA) is the study author. “While both aerobic and resistance exercise are important for overall health, our results suggest that resistance exercises may be superior when it comes to getting better ZZZs at night.”
42% of participants reported that they didn’t get at least 7 hours of kip each night.
However, in twelve months, people who did resistance exercises slept for 40 minutes more than those who didn’t. This is the equivalent of four hours and 36 mins.
Aerobic exercise was associated with 23 minutes of extra sleep. Combination exercises were associated with 17 minutes of more sleep.
The people who did at least some resistance exercise fell asleep three minutes sooner than those in the other groups.
However, sleep quality improved in all the groups. Even those who did not exercise. They got an extra 15 minutes of sleep each night.
Dr Brellenthin, an assistant professor for kinesiology, said: “If your sleep has got noticeably worse over the past two stressful years, consider incorporating two or more resistance exercise training sessions into your regular exercise routine to improve your general muscle and bone health, as well as your sleep.”
How to do resistance training
Participants in the resistance group were required to follow an exercise plan.
Each workout lasted one hour and covered all major muscle groups (legs and hips, backs, abdomen, chest and shoulders, arms, stomach, chest and abdomen) in one session. This was an alternative to isolation work.
Each exercise was repeated eight to sixteen times for each set.
Exercises included:
- Leg press
- Press your chest
- Pulldown
- Leg curl
- Leg extension
- Biceps curl
- Pushdown on the triceps
- Shoulder press
- Crunch in the abdomen
- Lower back extension
- Torso rotation
- Hip abduction
It wasn’t clear how all of these exercises would fit in each hour.
This gives you an idea about the types of exercises that you can do over a period of time to ensure you hit each muscle.
The aerobic group also experienced sleep benefits and used cross trainers, treadmills, and exercise bikes at moderate to vigorous intensity for three hours per week.
The combination group consisted of 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise followed by eight to sixteen repetitions on nine machines of resistance exercise.
According to the NHS, adults should exercise at least twice a week.
It recommends that you do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week, such brisk walking or riding on a bicycle, and 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise per week, such running or skipping.
Building muscle doesn’t have to involve a hardcore gym session, and you can do it from the comfort of your own home.
The NHS also lists resistance bands, yoga, pilates (tai chi), resistance bands, heavy gardening, and exercises that are based on your body weight, like pushups, as muscle-strengthening options.