The relationship between exercise and sleep is well-established. Aerobic exercise is fantastic for helping you get a good night's rest. However, cardio is not the only form of exercise that can positively benefit your sleep.

Did you know that you should also be including at least two days of strength training in your routine. Resistance training may help improve your sleep as well as cardio, as well. One study showed that individuals who regularly completed resistance training had better and longer sleep than those who just did cardio exercise. Continue reading to learn more about what that means for your sleep and exercise training.  

Strength Training and Sleep

This study isn't the first to look at the relationship between exercise and its effects on sleep and insomnia. In 2017, a study looked at 34 studies with 29 showing that exercise improves both sleep quality and duration. 

Exercise can also stabilize your mood and decompress the mind. One of the main barriers to getting a good night's sleep is rumination and worry. However, exercise can help reduce this burden and clear your mind. This is essential for the process that is important for going to sleep - turning off your mind and being at peace. 

The main unknown regarding exercise and sleep was which type of exercise was the best for getting a good night's rest. A study conducted in 2022 included over 400 overweight or obese adults that were not physically active. The study split up the individuals into four different exercise groups - aerobic, or cardio, exercise; resistance, or strength training; a combination of the two; or no exercise at all. 

Participants in these groups completed about an hour of physical activity three times a week. Over the course of one year, participants who did the muscle-building exercise slept about 17 minutes longer than the other groups. They also had increased sleep efficiency for those doing resistance training or a combination of resistance and aerobic exercise. It did not increase for those in the cardio exercise group or those who did not exercise. 

How to Add Resistance Exercise to Your Sleep Routine

It's important to know that all types of exercise are generally better for sleep. Resistance exercise may provide slightly better results, which could be of interest to those who are extremely concerned about their sleep. 

Regardless, this study was more of a reminder that both aerobic and resistance exercise can provide unique and complementary benefits. Therefore, it's important to have a mixture of both in your weekly routine. 

Adding in weight training doesn't require you to double your exercise time. A few weekly sessions of less than an hour of resistance exercise is very beneficial. In the resistance training study, participants worked out all major muscle groups using various machines. If you don't have access to these machines, there are other ways to build strength. this includes getting a pair of dumbbells or resistance bands for use at the home. 

There are even a number of great bodyweight exercises that are just as effective.  These include: 

• Pushups
• Squats
• Lunges
• Crunches
• Planks
• Chair dips 

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is also great for your sleep as well. It significantly improve your sleep quality.

When Should You exercise to Get a Good Night's Sleep? 

Regardless of what type of exercise you choose, it's important to exercise in a way that does not interfere with your sleep. This includes not working out too close to bed time. Before you fall asleep, it's important that your heart rate, temperature, breathing rate and blood pressure return to normal levels.   

Exercising too close to bedtime can make it difficult for you to fall asleep as your body tries to return to a normal baseline. Incorporating resistance training into your weekly exercise routine has some of the same basic requirements as any other type of exercise. Motivation and willpower are both vital for getting the best results. Schedule it into your calendar and don't skip it! 

If you need assistance with working in exercise to your sleep, please click the orange button below to take a free online sleep test and talk with one of our sleep health experts. 

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-news/weight-training-may-help-you-sleep-better