words Al Woods
Sleep is one element in our exercise regime that’s important in making training gains and performance in all aspects of life, including endurance, strength, learning, and memory.
During the day, your body tissues, organs, and cells are in constant demand, but when you sleep at night you allow them to rest and repair.
Muscle gains occur, heart rate slows, brain cells make connections, and an active process occurs to repair and build stressed tissues, strengthening them.
Good night sleep will boost your workout and possibly contribute to your weight loss, while regular exercises will improve your sleep quality. This creates a complementary and symbiotic relationship.
However, this relationship only works when you’re sleeping on a quality mattress that offers your support, comfort, and pressure relief. This means you’ll wake up feeling relaxed, not with aches and pains.
If you want to learn how to balance exercise and sleep, keep on reading…
5 Tips for balancing exercise and sleep
Many studies show that exercising regularly can help boost better quality rest and more sleep. According to research by the University of Georgia, lower cardiorespiratory fitness exercises can increase your risk of developing sleep health problems.
Regular exercise can also help to ease insomnia. But how do you balance exercises and sleep? May these 5 tips might help you out:
- Exercise Early in the morning
At 5 pm most people have a lot of things to do or many excuses why they can’t work out or they’re just tired from a day’s work.
By waking up early in the morning and working out you can jumpstart your productivity since exercises improve brain function. Furthermore, it reduces any excitatory effects that often impair the onset of sleep.
By working out in the morning after a good night’s rest, you can focus on your responsibility throughout the day.
Ensure you’ve received 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night, or the sleep might do you more harm than good. Head to bed an hour earlier so you can wake up an hour earlier for your workout.
- Exercise Regularly
Regular exercise helps your brain to stimulate the production of more adenosine, which is a chemical that makes us happy. This is the chemical that’s often blocked when you take caffeine to make you feel alert. The more you work out, the more you’re driven to sleep with this chemical.
- Exercise at a moderate to high intensity for an hour
Exercising at a moderately high intensity for an hour helps to improve your circadian rhythm or your body’s internal clock.
Exercises allow your body to understand the schedule it following; and morning exercises prepare your body to sleep better during the night.
Although you can manage with a shorter duration exercise when the intensity is high. A full hour high intensity will help in promoting a good night’s sleep throughout the night.
- Consider monitoring your sleep habits via a Sleep App
Though most people think they’re getting enough sleep, nothing makes us face the music of reality like the TikTok videos from our smartphones.
There are many sleep apps out there that can help you make the most out of your sleep. They help you monitor your sleep habits, meaning you can avoid habits that prevent you from sleeping.
- Stick to low-intensity workouts before bed
Some people prefer working out before going to bed because of their busy daytime schedules. Workouts before going to bed can help you sleep faster, sleep deeper, and reduces the cases of waking up during the night. Moderate-intensity workouts before bed can also help to ease pre-bed anxiety.
With that said, stick to low-intensity workouts like Barre, Pilates, or Yoga, if you want to sweat close to bedtime. High-intensity workouts may delay the onset of sleep and even increase your heart rate post-workout.
Final Thoughts
Sleep increases your productivity and performance. Exercising helps you achieve better sleep quality. Prioritizing sleep will not only help you attain your daily goal quickly but also help your health and fitness.
Find a balance that works for you. Keep in mind that everyone is different, especially when it comes to how stimulating any exercise might be.
Breaking a sweat at the end day might help you sleep better. But if you experience increased heart rate after working out close to bedtime, consider morning workouts.
