Although vigorous exercise before bed has long been discouraged, light activity can improve sleep, in accordance with a review published online July 16, 2024. BMJ Open Sport and Exercise Medicine.
The study involved 28 people aged 18 to 40 (average age 26, 71% female), all of whom reported sitting for at the very least five hours a day and two hours each evening. Participants wore an activity tracker for seven consecutive days. Each person accomplished two four-hour evening sessions in a lab — one by which they sat your complete time, and one other where they took a three-minute activity break every half hour. During activity intervals, they performed easy resistance exercises including chair squats, calf raises, and standing knee raises with straight leg hip extension.
The researchers found that participants slept a median of half-hour longer after completing the session with activity breaks later within the evening. The resistance exercises utilized in the study didn't require equipment and could possibly be done while watching TV, the study authors noted, and folks could potentially achieve similar sleep effects with shorter activities like walking across the house or marching in place.
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