Researchers from the University of Otago in New Zealand have discovered that a few short, regular exercises can help improve both the quality and duration of sleep.
Typically, experts advise against intense workouts in the evening. Physical exercise can strain our bodies at a time when we should be winding down. Previous studies have shown that after such workouts, it takes longer to fall asleep, and the quality of sleep is significantly poorer.
This doesn’t mean, of course, that the best way to spend your evening is sprawled out on the couch in front of the TV. The university team sought to find a balance between evening relaxation and activity. This led to a small study suggesting that just a few three-minute sessions of bodyweight exercises, performed every half hour before bed, can promote better sleep.
“For many of us, the longest period of uninterrupted sitting occurs in the evening. We wanted to find out what would happen if we engaged in very short bouts of light activity several times throughout the evening,” said Jennifer Gale, an expert in sedentary behavior and the study’s lead researcher.
Half of the 28 participants spent one evening sitting continuously for four hours before bedtime. On another evening, a week later, the same volunteers performed three-minute sessions of 20-second bodyweight exercises every half hour. These exercises were simple (like squats or knee lifts followed by straightening the leg at the hip) so that anyone could do them without any equipment. The entire session lasted four hours. Meanwhile, the second group did the opposite: they dedicated the first evening to exercises and the second to prolonged sitting.
During the experiment, participants consumed the same meals and wore wrist accelerometers to track their movements, according to Science Alert.
The researchers found that after completing the exercise sessions, participants slept more soundly at night and, on average, for 30 minutes longer compared to those who sat still all evening.
According to Jennifer Gale, this provides further evidence that evening exercises do not negatively impact sleep quality, despite common stereotypes.
Since the study primarily involved young, healthy women with an average age of 25, the results will need to be confirmed in larger and more diverse groups.
“From other studies, we know that you could likely achieve a similar effect by walking around the house, marching in place, or even dancing in your living room,” noted Meredith Petty, a sports and nutrition researcher who also participated in the study. She emphasized that “the most important thing is to regularly get up from your chair and move.”
The findings of the study were published in the journal BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine.