STRUGGLING to sleep? Get your exercise gear on, scientists suggest.
They revealed four workouts that could help beat insomnia and improve sleep quality.
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Yoga, known for its deep stretches and meditative breathing, made the list, as did Tai Chi – a Chinese martial art.
But exercise as simple as walking and jogging could also help you snooze better, researchers from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine found.
They suggested exercise be used a primary treatment strategy for persistent poor sleep – especially since it’s cheap and has minimal side effects.
If you regularly have trouble falling asleep, wake up lots during the night or wake up early and can’t drift off again, this means you have insomnia.
It can last for days, weeks or months – it’s deemed ‘long-term’ if it passes the three month mark, according to the NHS.
Long term issues with sleep can up the risk of mental and physical health conditions, including depression, heart problems, obesity and dementia.
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is often suggested as a form of treatment, if making changes to your sleep routine doesn’t work.
In the UK, GPs now rarely prescribe sleeping pills to treat insomnia, as they can have serious side effects.
Instead they will often suggest insomnia sufferers take time to wind down before bed, make sure their bedroom is dark and quiet, and exercise regularly throughout the day.
Studies also suggest that exercise can be helpful for insomnia, but current guidelines don’t specify which types of exercise might be most beneficial, the Chinese research team said.
Their research – published in BMJ Evidence Based Medicine – compared 22 different clinical trials on treatment options to ease insomnia.
The trials involved 1348 participants and 13 insomnia treatments, seven of which were exercise-based.
These were:
- Yoga
- Tai Chi
- Walking or jogging
- Aerobic plus strength exercise
- Strength training alone
- Aerobic exercise combined with therapy
- Mixed aerobic exercises
Participants tried these workouts for four up to 26 weeks at a time.
The other insomnia treatments studied included CBT, changes to sleep hygiene, Ayurveda, acupuncture and massage, and lifestyle changes typically recommended for the condition.
A number of trials found CBT is “more effective and has a longer-lasting impact on insomnia than medication”, researchers said.
CBT helped insomnia sufferers increase their total sleep time, improve their sleep efficiency, shorten the amount of time spent awake and helped them fall asleep faster, according to studies they assessed.
Signs of insomnia and other ways to treat it
INSOMNIA means you regularly have problems sleeping.
You have insomnia if you regularly:
- Find it hard to go to sleep
- Wake up several times during the night
- Lie awake at night
- Wake up early and cannot go back to sleep
- Still feel tired after waking up
- Find it hard to nap during the day even though you’re tired
- Feel tired and irritable during the day
- Find it difficult to concentrate during the day because you’re tired
The most common causes are:
- Stress, anxiety or depression
- Noise
- A room that’s too hot or cold
- Uncomfortable beds
- Alcohol, caffeine or nicotine
- Illegal drugs like cocaine or ecstasy
- Jet lag
- Shift work
Insomnia usually gets better by changing your sleeping habits.
Try going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, and relaxing at least one hour before bed, for example, take a bath or read a book.
Make sure your bedroom is dark and quiet, exercise regularly during the day, and make sure your mattress, pillow and covers are comfortable.
Avoid the following:
- Do not smoke or drink alcohol, tea or coffee at least six hours before going to bed
- Do not eat a big meal late at night
- Do not exercise at least four hours before bed
- Do not watch television or use devices, like smartphones, right before going to bed, because the blue light makes you more awake
- Do not nap during the day
- Do not drive when you feel sleepy
- Do not sleep in after a bad night’s sleep and stick to your regular sleeping hours instead
You can buy tablets or liquids (sometimes called sleeping aids) from a pharmacy that may help you sleep better.
But if you find nothing is helping your insomnia, see your GP.
Source: NHS
But some forms of exercise also seemed to be effective, when compared to the usual treatment given to people with insomnia.
Yoga could increase total sleep time by nearly two hours and improve sleep efficiency by nearly 15 per cent, researchers found.
It may also help people fall asleep half an hour faster and reduce time spent awake during the night by nearly an hour, they added.
Tai Chi may also increase total sleep time by more than 50 minutes, reduce time spent awake by over half an hour and shorten the falling asleep process by around 25 minutes, scientists found.
In fact, out of all the exercise types, Tai Chi seemed to ease insomnia most effectively for up to two years.
Walking or jogging also seemed to reduce insomnia severity.
Researchers said there are biological explanations for why exercise can help people sleep better.
As yoga focuses on body awareness, attention and controlled breathing, it may alter brain activity, helping ease anxiety and depressive symptoms, which often interfere with a good night’s sleep, the study team suggested.
As for Tai Chi, its emphasis on breath control and physical relaxation has been shown to decrease activity in the sympathetic nervous system activity, which is responsible for the body’s ‘fight or flight’ response.
Its focus on meditative movement and mindfulness may also help dull ‘mental chatter’, reduce anxiety and reduce inflammation in the body.
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Walking or jogging may improve sleep by increasing energy expenditure, stopping cortisol production, improving emotional regulation and boosting the sleep hormone melatonin, researchers added.
They noted that 15 of clinical trials the included in their analysis had flaws in their design and methods.
Some of the participant pools were also small, and there wasn’t a standard way of assessing the frequency or intensity of workouts across all of the studies.
But they concluded: “The findings of this study further underscore the therapeutic potential of exercise interventions in the treatment of insomnia, suggesting that their role may extend beyond adjunctive support to serve as viable primary treatment options.
“Although current clinical guidelines make only limited mention of exercise, this study provides relatively comprehensive comparative evidence that may inform the development of more specific and actionable clinical recommendations.
“Given the advantages of exercise modalities such as yoga, Tai Chi, and walking or jogging — including low cost, minimal side effects, and high accessibility — these interventions are well-suited for integration into primary care and community health programmes.”
They called for further research what types of exercise may help ease specific insomnia symptoms.
