Staying physically active over time is linked to a 40% reduction in difficulty initiating sleep.
How much exercise do you get per week? 🏃♂️
Sleep is a critical component of overall health and well-being, yet many people struggle to get enough quality sleep. While numerous factors can impact our sleep patterns, one often-overlooked aspect is physical activity. A growing body of research suggests that regular exercise may be a key ingredient for better sleep.
A new longitudinal study, published in BMJ Open, which followed over 4,300 middle-aged adults across 9 countries in Europe for 10 years, found that people who maintained an active lifestyle were significantly less likely to experience insomnia symptoms or extreme sleep durations.
Figure 1. Percentage of physically active and inactive people in various countries.
Participants were classified as "physically active" if they reported exercising at least 2 times per week for 1 hour or more, to the point of feeling out of breath or sweaty. In the study population, 37% were persistently non-active, 25% were persistently active, 20% became inactive and 18% became active from baseline to follow-up. Even before we start talking about sleep, it is worth repeating that only 1 in 4 adults were actually persistently active, a statistic that really should be better.
Those who were persistently active over the 10-year period were 40% less likely to report difficulties initiating sleep compared to those who remained inactive. The persistently active group was also 30% less likely to be short sleepers (<6h/night), and half as likely to be long sleepers getting 9 hours or more. Sleep duration was assessed by self-reported average nightly sleep time which might introduce some uncertainty about the actual sleep duration.
In contrast, those who started out active but became sedentary during the study period had sleep profiles similar to the persistently inactive group. This suggests it's not enough to exercise occasionally - maintaining an active lifestyle long-term seems necessary to reap the sleep rewards. Interestingly, daytime sleepiness and difficulties maintaining sleep were not related to physical activity status.
The researchers note that the relationship between exercise and sleep is likely influenced by a variety of individual factors. But the message is clear: make physical activity a lifelong priority, not just a short-term fix should help you sleep better.
Study: https://lnkd.in/dKBEEaKn