23 May Which Exercise is More Beneficial for Sleep?
Physical exercise is known to be beneficial for sleep quality and the time it takes to fall asleep. Different types of exercise offer different benefits for cardiovascular and muscular health, but what exercise is most beneficial for sleep? A presentation from the March 2022 American Heart Association conference on Epidemiology, prevention, lifestyle & cardio-metabolic health highlighted population-based evidence that sleep was important for cardiovascular health. Dr Brellenthin stated that although aerobic activity is often recommended to improve sleep, little studies exist on the benefits of resistance-based exercise on sleep, a study area identified as needing advancements in the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report.
Poor sleep is known to increase risk for high blood pressure, stoke, heart disease, elevated cholesterol and atherosclerosis risk as well as weight gain and inflammatory diseases. The study presented was one of the longest and largest to compare types of exercise on sleep parameters. The population contained 386 adults with obesity (BMI 25-40kg/m2), high blood pressure (120-139/80-89mmhg). Individuals were randomly assigned to anaerobic, resistance, combined and control groups. Sleep was assessed for sleep efficiency, sleep latency, disturbances and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, a self-assessment questionnaire which measures sleep quality.
The study found that sleep duration increased on average by 40 minutes in 12 months for the resistance exercise group, 23 minutes for the aerobic exercise group and 17 minutes for the combined group, the control group also increased 15 minutes in the 12-month period. Sleep efficiency increased in the resistance and combined group but not in the aerobic exercise group. Sleep latency decreased by 3 minutes for the resistance group only. Sleep quality and disturbances improved in all groups including the control group.
Aerobic and resistance exercise improves overall health, however based on these results studies on resistance exercise may have benefits for sleep quality and cardiovascular health. The presentation concludes
“Resistance exercise significantly improved sleep duration and sleep efficiency, which are critical indicators of sleep quality that reflects how well a person falls asleep and stays asleep throughout the night. Therefore, if your sleep has gotten noticeably worse over the past two stressful years, consider incorporating two or more resistance exercise training sessions into your regular exercise routine to improve your general muscle and bone health, as well as your sleep.”
“While both aerobic and resistance exercise are important for overall health, our results suggest that resistance exercises may be superior when it comes to getting better ZZZs at night”, Dr Brellenthin
American Heart Association. (2022, March 3). Resistance exercise may be superior to aerobic exercise for getting better ZZZs. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 16, 2022 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220303215826.htm