You Can Exercise and
Sleep Better
By Donovan
Baldwin
It has been proven
again and again by research studies: The amount of physical
exercise
that you perform during the day is one of the key ingredients
to helping you get a good sleep at night. The more active
your body is during the day, the more likely you are to relax at night
and fall asleep faster.
This is an important health benefit of exercise, because regular,
restful sleep is a key factor in a long and healhty life.
More and more research is showing us things such as:
- People who exercise
and get enough good sleep tend to live longer,
healthier lives.
- The amount of sleep a
person gets, or doesn't get, can be linked to
weight problems.
- Older people need
more sleep than previously believed in order to
retain their health and vigor.
These few points remind us how
exercise and sleeping better benefits us
in so many ways.
With a regular, moderate exercise program you will soon begin to notice
that your quality of sleep is improved and, probably unnoticed by you
but important to the restorative power of sleep, the transition between
the cycles and phases of sleep will become smoother and more
regular. You should certainly not expect changes overnight
(no joke intended) but simply by keeping up your physical activity
during the day, you may find it easier to deal with the stress and
worries of your life. After all, it has been shown over and
over again that stress not only has its own negative effects on health,
but also interferes with sleep. It has also been shown that
exercise, which has many health benefits of its own, is also an
important tool for people who want to manage stress.
Relationship
Between Exercise and Better Sleep
Many research programs and studies indicate that there is a direct
correlation between how much we exercise and how we feel
afterwards. Therefore, a good exercise program or at least
some regular physical activity such as gardening or walking, is
imperative for health, vitality and vigor...particularly in seniors, by
the way. As pointed out earlier, both exercise and sleep can
help a person lose weight, and this can also have a profound effect on
both health and happiness.
If you simply don't want to get into a formal exericse program, you
should at least try and increase your physical activity during the
day. You can make use of such simple tactics as parking
farther away from the store or office you are visiting, or doing some
stretches in front of the TV. While a more formal exercise
program may produce more beneficial effects, anything you can do to get
moving during the day will help. After all, the goal here is
simply to give your body enough stimulation during the day so that you
aren't full of energy at night. Regular physical activity
helps releave stress and moderate the chemical surges which occur
within the body and which can keep the mind whirling when it's
bedtime.
It is a simple, and well-documented, fact the your body requires a
certain amount of physical activity in order to keep functioning in a
healthy manner. It is also important to note at this point,
by the way, that you should not be exercising three or four hours
before you go to bed as the physical elevations which occur during
intense exercise can interfere with the sleep process...particularly
the "falling asleep" part. Remember, "intense exercise" is a
relative term, but if you are not sure, just take it easy before
bedtime. Give your body and mind time to relax and prepare
for sleep.
Just a note, recent studies have shown that working or playing on the
computer, or watching TV right before bed can actually interfere with
falling asleep and getting proper sleep because of stimulation of
certain portions of the brain. Good word of advice:
If you want to fall asleep peacefully, do not watch the news before bed!
Back to the
Topic: Exercise and Sleep Better
The ideal exercise time for most of us is going to be in the late
afternoon or early evening, but NOT right before bedtime as that can
actually interfere with falling asleep as pointed out
earlier. You want to make sure you expend your physical
energy long before it is time for your body to rest and ready itself
for sleep. However, exercise is going to be of value even if
done during the morning. I personally prefer morning exercise
and either walk a couple of miles or work out with dumbbells before
starting my day.
You should attempt to exercise at least three or four times a week for
a period of 30 minutes or so. You can make your "exercise
program" something as simple as taking a walk. If you prefer,
you can include strenuous activities such as running, or resistance
exercises such as weight lifting, as well. In fact, varying
your exercise program eliminates boredom and provides various body
parts and systems with a diverse regimen of exercise.
The goal here should be to increase your heart rate and strengthen the
capacity of your lungs. Cardio
(cardiovascular exercises),
such as running or aerobics, is going to be the best type of exercise
for this goal. Don't forget, however, that the body really
needs three types of exercise for maximum health: cardio,
resistance (strength building), and flexibility. By adding a
regular exercise activity to your daily schedule will help you to
improve your overall health and will help you emotionally as
well.
Besides activities such as running, swimming, bicycling, and walking
there are several other physical activities that you can add to your
daily life to increase your level of physical activity. If
you are seeking better exercise and health benefits but are battling
not sleeping, you'll find aerobic exercises to be the best so get
yourself a Richard Simmons tape and have at it!
Ultimately, your goal with exercise is to increase the amount of oxygen
that reaches your blood stream. There are many types of
aerobic exercise for you to choose from to accomplish this so you
should be able to find one which works well for you. These
activities include running, biking, using a treadmill, dancing, and
jumping rope, just to mention a few. You might also want to
investigate purchasing one of the relatively inexpensive yet effective
all
in one exercise machines such as the Total Gym or Total Body Works Home Gym 5000 . I
used to work with the husband of a lady who worked for Chuck Norris, the
martial arts expert and star of "Walker, Texas Ranger", and she told me
that Chuck Norris not only was a spokesman for Total Gym, but
did indeed own one and use it regularly. If you don't want to pay for a Total Gym, you can get a
Weider Total Body Works Home Gym 5000 from WalMart.
Additionally, there are some non-aerobic exercises and disciplines that
you may find are also beneficial to help you solve your insomnia
problem.
Yoga
Yoga is an ancient exercise method that has many health benefits
including a stimulatory effect on your nervous system, and especially
on the brain. Yoga uses breathing techniques and various yoga
postures to increase the blood circulation to the brain, promoting
regular and restful sleeping patterns. The regular practice
of yoga will help you to relax as well as relieve tension and
stress. Many people are hesitant to attempt yoga because it
seems so difficult, especially if you are looking at the pictures of
experienced yogis. However, it is not necessary to get every
position (asana) exactly right to experience the health benefits of
yoga.
Tai Chi
Tai Chi is lesser known ancient art of breathing and movement that was
developed by the Chinese monks. The movements of Tai Chi are
done slowly and in a precise manner, which is ideal if you have joint
pains or you are unable to participate in high level aerobic exercises
(cardio). Research has shown that Tai Chi can help with
insomnia by promoting relaxation.
Both disciplines, yoga and Tai Chi, can produce a state of meditation
which also helps relieve stress and creates a better mental and
physical state of mind and body which can lead to better sleep.
If you honestly wish you could buy into the idea that you can exercise
and sleep better but feel that you don't have any time to exercise on a
regular basis, you could try to sneak in moments of activity as you go
about your daily schedule. For example, whenever possible,
you should take the stairs instead of the elevator. Little
things like that done regularly will do wonders for your body and your
mind.
You could also park your car down the block or around the corner and
walk that extra block or two to get to your destination. My
wife tried this with great results when she worked in downtown
Austin. Later, she stopped driving and rode the bus and got
off a couple of stops away from her office. A lady in Atlanta
was recently mentioned on CNN as having lost several pounds in
additiona to better sleep and health benefits by using this simple
tactic.
As you will easily realize, once you start thinking about it, there are
many small things you can add to increase the activity in your
life. Your overall goal here is to have a healthy and well
balanced life - with plenty of sleep.
Trust me. I am a sixty-three year old male who sleeps just
fine and and I have experienced first hand the better sleep and
exercise benefits associated with taking control of your life in this
way.
It is a fact you can exercise and sleep better.
Want to know more about athletic performance and nutrition? Click here
for an in-depth article on performance nutrition.
While I do not normally recommend diets themselves, healthy eating is
important to any health, fitness, or weight loss program. Click Here
to learn more about Diet To Go
meals.
P. S. If you want to learn more about why Diets Don't Work,
please click here.
If you want to learn how to burn fat, a great book to read is Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom
Venuto
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