• Question: How does exercise affect sleep?

    Asked by anon-189193 to Yousef, Rachel, Petrina, Michael, Jason, Emma on 7 Nov 2018. This question was also asked by anon-189003.
    • Photo: Rachel Sharman

      Rachel Sharman answered on 7 Nov 2018:

      Hi!

      Exercise can be really great for sleep or not so great.

      Firstly exercise wears us out, so it’s great for making us feel sleepy.

      Exercise in the morning can help alert our body clock and get us feeling more active earlier, this is through the release of endorphins (mood boosters). But, because of these endorphoins exercising too close to sleep will keep you awake for longer as it will take a while for you to wind down ready for sleep.

      There have also been studies showing that exercise can help you get deeper sleep! Our body repairs during deep sleep and these studies showed that athletes who did strength training and more muscle work had more deep sleep after training!

Comments