Camomile tea, lavender pillow spray and less screen time are widely known to help improve our sleep patterns, but do you know the science behind exercise and improved sleep? Vhi Health Coach, Micheli Romão, explains the relationship between the two, and how your next great night’s sleep might just be a jog away! 

The relationship between sleep and exercise

Sleep is extremely important for all functions of the body and mind. It is the basis for a happy mind and a happy body. Lack of sleep is detrimental to our health; in fact, prolonged periods without sleep can even cause symptoms of psychosis like hallucinations and delusions. Exercise and sleep go hand-in-hand and have what’s known as a bidirectional relationship. This means they impact one another and affect the same mechanisms of the body, such as:

• Metabolism
• Immune system
• Circadian rhythm; which is our internal clock that controls cycles of alertness and sleepiness. Exercise helps to regulate this internal clock
• Body temperature
• Release of chemicals like serotonin and dopamine that help with mood regulation.

Mechanisms like our circadian rhythm and our body temperature directly influence our sleep. When we exercise, we burn energy and impact these mechanisms, which helps us to sleep better. When we sleep well, we have more energy and inclination to exercise. This is the bidirectional relationship at play. If you exercise during the day, it can positively impact both your ability to fall asleep, called sleep onset latency, and your quality of sleep.

The importance of routine for good quality sleep

To help people understand their sleep patterns, I like to explain how sleep likes routine. Sleep needs a routine that moves you into what I call a place of ‘surrender’; a state of being ready for sleep. If you have a set routine and exercise is a part of this (ideally between two and eight hours before your bedtime), which will release tension and reduce stress, you are more likely to fall asleep quickly at night and wake up less often during the night.

If you perform vigorous exercise as close as one hour to your bedtime, however, this can negatively affect your sleep. What’s most important is creating a good routine and being consistent with it, so your body learns when to expect sleep each night. When you have exercise in your daily routine, it can help your body understand the schedule it’s on. And of course, when we work out and fatigue our muscles, they become tired and ready to ‘surrender’ to rest and sleep that night.

Does the type and duration of exercise matter?

The kind of exercise we do does play a role. If you’re doing aerobic exercise like walking, yoga, or Tai Chi, it helps to release tension from your joints and ligaments. Along with the mindfulness required to perform these kinds of movements, that tension release that happens as a result can also help improve your sleep. Exercise performed outdoors in the sunlight also helps to regulate our circadian rhythm. A robust and regulated circadian rhythm helps with production of melatonin─ a hormone that makes us sleepy. As for the duration of exercise, 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise per day should suffice in helping with your sleep that night.

Does the positive impact of exercise on sleep take time?

The great news is, you don’t need to have been consistently exercising for months or years to feel the benefits on your sleep; exercise will immediately play a positive role in your sleep quality.

The idea of ‘earning’ your sleep

A good way to describe the psychological impact of exercise is as a ‘virtuous cycle’ where we almost feel like we’ve ‘earned’ our sleep. A virtuous cycle refers to a chain of events, where one event or task leads to another, which further supports the first event and so on. This all causes a continuous cycle of improvement where doing one thing makes us feel we’ve ‘earned’ the next. When we complete a workout or some form of exercise, we feel like we have completed a task. We’ve ticked something off the list. This experience creates a sense of accomplishment and starts a cycle of understanding that you exercised and now deserve good rest at night, and equally, that good sleep will allow you to exercise well again the next day. This cycle becomes our routine, which, as mentioned above, is very important for our sleep. It extends to other areas of our lives too; when you exercise, you’re more inclined to eat nutritious food to help your body perform as well as it can, and this workout then helps us sleep better at night. And the cycle continues on.

It’s good to remember that sleep is self-care and is vital for recovery to allow continued movement and exercise. Find ways to bring the exercise you enjoy into your routine―maybe it’s sea swims in the mornings or going to your local parkrun every week with your friends―and remember that sleep is vital for that routine. 

If you have been diagnosed with a sleep disorder, always speak to your healthcare professional before starting a new exercise routine. 

This content is for information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek advice from your GP or an appropriate medical professional if you have concerns about your health, or before commencing a new healthcare regime. If you believe that you are experiencing a medical emergency call 999 / 112 or seek emergency assistance immediately.

Meet our Vhi Verified Expert