Here's Exactly How Late You Can Exercise Before It Ruins Your Sleep

Person running in eveningThere’s no denying it; exercise is great for your physical and mental health, with even a small increase in activity seeming to enhance our wellness. The NHS writes that moving enough throughout the week (150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of high-intensity exercise) can even lower your risk of early death by up to 30%.But though meeting your activity goals can help you sleep, a new paper says that working out too close to your bedtime might actually harm your ability to get a good night’s sleep. That matters, not least because a recent study suggests that the heart-healthy benefits of exercise might not make up for the harm sleep deprivation causes.When’s the latest I should work out?The research, published in the scientific journal Nature Communications, looked at a year’s worth of data from 14,689 participants who wore a device that tracked their sleep and exercise patterns. The scientists found that people who worked out less than four hours before their bedtime fared worse in pretty much all sleep metrics: they fell asleep later, got less kip overall, had worse-quality sleep, and had a higher heart rate while asleep.This was especially true for higher-intensity exercises like HIIT workouts, football, and long runs. Speaking to Monash University, the study’s first author, Dr Josh Leota, said that though public health advice has previously suggested avoiding exercise too close to bedtime, this study was the first of its size to confirm the belief.“Intense exercise in the evening can keep the body in a heightened state of alertness,” he shared. “If exercising within a four-hour window of bedtime, people could choose brief low-intensity exercises, such as a light jog or swim, to minimise sleep disruption and allow the body to wind down.” When should my bedtime even be?Our sleep demands change by age, though there’s no reason to stick to the eight-hour rule if it doesn’t suit you – that’s a bit of a myth.Still, adults need at least seven hours of sleep in general, and some will need more.Beyond that, it does seem that eight hours in the daytime may not be as helpful to your body as eight hours’ sleep at night. Some researchers recommend getting to bed before 1 am, at the absolute latest – night owl or nay.Related...The 15-Minute Habits A Sleep Expert Uses To Calm 3AM ThoughtsExhausted Right Now No Matter How Much You Sleep? This Might Be WhyI'm A Sleep Scientist – Screens Before Bed Aren't Always Terrible

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