{"id":16209,"date":"2025-07-22T19:37:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T19:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/16209\/"},"modified":"2025-07-22T19:37:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T19:37:14","slug":"what-kind-of-exercise-can-help-improve-your-sleep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/16209\/","title":{"rendered":"What kind of exercise can help improve your sleep?"},"content":{"rendered":"

People with insomnia often endure long, uncomfortable nights without rest, but new research indicates that specific forms of exercise may offer relief.<\/p>\n

A team of researchers in China reviewed 22 clinical trials involving 1,348 participants and assessed how 13 different methods impacted sleep, including seven types of exercise: yoga, Tai chi, walking or jogging, combined aerobic and strength training, strength training alone, aerobic exercise paired with therapy, and various aerobic routines.<\/p>\n

Published in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, the study found that yoga was particularly effective, increasing total sleep time by nearly two hours and reducing the amount of time spent awake after falling asleep by almost an hour.<\/p>\n

This research highlights the powerful link between physical activity and sleep quality. However, it also raises an important question: how exactly does exercise prepare the body and brain for sleep \u2013 and which types of exercise are most effective in doing so?<\/p>\n

Brain<\/p>\n

\u201cExercise can have a direct impact on our brain activity during sleep, including an increase in slow-wave sleep (the stage of sleep that is restorative) and increases our total sleep time,\u201d explains Dr Greg Elder<\/a>, associate director of Northumbria Sleep Research at Northumbria University. \u201cThis means that we have better sleep for longer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hormones<\/p>\n

\u201cExercise can also affect relevant hormones,\u201d says Elder. \u201cFor example, exercise can affect our melatonin levels, which is a hormone involved in sleep-wake regulation, as well as cortisol levels, which is a stress hormone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mood<\/p>\n

\"SeniorExercising outdoors will help boost your mood (Alamy\/PA)<\/p>\n

\u201cExercise is also beneficial for our mood, and mood is closely linked with sleep. Bad sleep is usually associated with mood disorders,\u201d notes Elder. \u201cIf we exercise outside and go for a morning run or cycle, for example, then we are typically exposed to bright, outdoor light which in itself is a good thing for our sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you are struggling with sleep, here are four types of exercises to try\u2026<\/p>\n

1. Aerobic exercise like cycling or running\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"SeniorCycling or running can help ease anxiety and improve mood (Alamy\/PA)<\/p>\n

\u201cAerobic exercises that increase your heart and breathing rates can make falling asleep easier by lowering your blood pressure and reducing stress,\u201d says Dr Hana Patel, resident sleep expert at Time4Sleep<\/a>. \u201cFor example, running and cycling are perfect for tackling any anxiety that is keeping you up at night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luke Cousins, health and wellbeing physiologist at Nuffield Health<\/a> agrees and adds: \u201c\u201dIt\u2019s important to remember though that timings of when you workout is equally important to consider, because exercise can also cause a spike in adrenaline, which keeps your body in an alert state.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor maximum benefit, try to get your exercise about five to six hours before trying to sleep but no later than two hours before bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Strength training<\/p>\n

\"SeniorStrength training can be beneficial (Alamy\/PA)<\/p>\n

Try lifting some weights in the gym or workout using some resistance bands in the comfort of your own home.<\/p>\n

\u201cA mix of aerobic exercise and strength training can be beneficial, like lifting weights and using resistance bands,\u201d says Patel. \u201cBut remember to only do what feels comfortable and gradually increase the difficulty as you progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. Yoga<\/p>\n

\"SeniorDeep breathing and yoga have a plethora of benefits (Alamy\/PA)<\/p>\n

Slow down and take time to stretch and breathe before bed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYoga is also great for improving mindfulness and reducing stress, helping our bodies relax and reducing tension,\u201d says Patel. \u201cDeep breathing techniques can help to improve sleep quality and relax the nervous system, allowing us to properly unwind before bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elder agrees and adds: \u201cI would suggest avoiding any activity or exercise that is likely to cause you to be mentally stressed when you go to bed because that is more likely to be an issue, because stress is very bad for our sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. Walking<\/p>\n

\"GroupVitamin D and fresh air do wonders for the body and mind (Alamy\/PA)<\/p>\n

A brisk walk in the fresh air can help lower stress and anxiety that might be keeping you up at night.<\/p>\n

\u201cWalking is suitable for all fitness levels and can be a huge mood booster as it helps to lower cortisol levels, something which can also impact our sleep quality and our energy levels,\u201d says Samuel Quinn, personal training lead at Nuffield Health. \u201cIf we\u2019re walking outdoors \u2013 and hopefully away from a screen \u2013 this can also help reduce anxiety.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"People with insomnia often endure long, uncomfortable nights without rest, but new research indicates that specific forms of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16210,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[6647,102,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-16209","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-fitness","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}