According to the National Sleep Foundation, in addition to cardio vascular health, reducing stress, and boosting alertness; working out regularly can even improve your sleep quality. There’s no one perfect exercise that will enhance your sleep—any type of movement is better than none—but these three specific activities are scientifically proven to help you get better slumber.
Aerobic (or Cardio) Exercise
Activities that get your heart rate up, such as running, brisk walking, cycling, and swimming, have been shown to improve sleep and battle insomnia. Even small bouts, such as 10 minutes, may help, though the goal is to get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity (or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity) aerobic exercise each week. Get in shape with these exercise YouTube channels.
Strength Training
Building muscle has been shown to improve the quality of sleep, and it can also help you fall asleep faster and wake up less frequently throughout the night. So try doing exercises like shoulder presses, bicep curls, tricep dips, squats, lunges, calf raises, sit-ups, and push-ups that will make you stronger.
Yoga
Yoga’s relaxing poses and stretches, as well as the calming breathing exercises that accompany them, may be especially helpful if stress is what’s keeping you from falling asleep. Those with insomnia who do yoga daily for eight weeks are likely to fall asleep faster and increase the amount of time that they spend sleeping. Start simple yoga at home following these channels, both women and men could achieve easily!
And if you have trouble falling asleep, morning workouts may be your best bet. But if you have difficulty staying asleep, evening exercise may be the way to go. For example, if you exercise in the mornings, you’re likely to wake up earlier to accommodate the workout and combined with the added calorie burn early in the day, you can be more likely to go to sleep earlier. But if you exercise at night, the increase in body heat from moving may relax the muscles, creating a thermal effect similar to a warm bath. And along with muscle fatigue, it can help you sleep more soundly and stop you from waking after falling asleep.
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