Doing more physical activity during the day improves sleep on all levels.
- Increasing levels of physical activity throughout the day is associated with improved sleep, according to a new study.
- “We found that active days improve sleep quality, decrease the time spent in bed to fall asleep, increase the overall amount of sleep, lower daytime fatigue levels and advance the time we choose to go to bed,” said the study director.
- Lack of sleep has a negative impact on health.
According to a new study published in the journal Sleep Healthincreasing levels of physical activity during the day is associated with improved sleep.
Sleep and physical activity: an impact on adults and children
To conduct their study, the researchers used data from the cohort “Study of Australian Children (LSAC)”. This approach made it possible to obtain a rich data set from a diverse sample, including 1,168 children with an average age of 12 years and 1,360 adults with an average age of 44 years.
To accurately measure physical activity and sleep parameters, participants were equipped with GENEActiv monitors. Everyone was asked to wear them continuously for eight consecutive days.
At the end of the experiment, one of the main conclusions of the study is that a high level of physical activity is systematically associated with better sleep, regardless of age.
“We found that active days improve sleep quality, decrease the time spent in bed to fall asleep, increase the overall amount of sleep, lower daytime fatigue levels and advance the time we choose to go to bed”, said the study director.
The research also found that simply allowing more time for sleep does not automatically translate into an improvement in its quality.
Concerning children in particular, the study demonstrated that a sedentary lifestyle had a negative impact on their sleep.
“If it’s simply a matter of being more active during the day to get a good night’s sleep, it’s a relatively achievable goal for most of us,” concludes the research.
The study, titled “Time use and dimensions of healthy sleep: A cross-sectional study of Australian children and adults”, was directed by Lisa Matricciani, Dorothea Dumuid, Ty Stanford, Carol Maher, Paul Bennett, Larisa Bobrovskaya, Andrew Murphy and Tim Olds.
What are the effects of lack of sleep on health?
Lack of sleep weakens the immune system, encourages snacking, leads to drinking alcohol, triggers the desire to smoke tobacco, lowers the level of concentration, reduces the ability to learn or accomplish goals, achieves our ability to take a step back from situations increases irritability, stress and anxiety.
Sleep disorders can also lead to cardiovascular diseases. We are talking here, for example, about atherosclerosis, heart rhythm disorders, myocardial infarction, heart failure or even strokes.
