Having trouble sleeping? If you tend to be an object at rest more often than an object in motion, that might be part of the problem.
A study from the University of Basel in Switzerland looked specifically at teen athletes in their study on exercise and sleep.
More than four hundred teens (the average age of study participants was seventeen) kept logs of activity and sleep patterns for a week. More than half of the participants were members of the “Swiss Olympic Classes“; the rest were more sedentary.
- The 258 student athletes exercised an average of seventeen and a half hours during the week-long study.
- The 176 non-athletes exercised an average of four and a half hours during the week long study.
Student athletes reported sleeping better and waking up fewer times during the night. They also experienced higher energy levels during the day and a better ability to concentrate on schoolwork.
But what about other factors? Things like keeping a schedule and going to bed at the same time every night do play a role in getting a good night’s sleep. Did the teens in either group favor caffienated drinks (that may contribute to difficulty sleeping)?
Still, this study may be a good initial indicator of a link between exercise and a good night’s sleep.
Time for you athletes out there to chime in — do you feel like you sleep better because you work out? Do you feel more alert and energetic during the day if it includes exercise? It would be interesting to see a similar study done with different age groups — not just teenagers. It would also be interesting to see a longer study, with exercise and sleep logs lasting more than one week.
I’m tempted to try my own very unscientific version of the study — spend a week exercising every day and see how I sleep, compared to my current activity level, which I would consider moderate at best. I do walk the dogs at least four times per day and I am very active at my part-time job, but I don’t really think of either of those things as exercise.
Anybody else want to try this unscientific experiment with me?