It's not news that exercise has a positive relationship with your sleep. Exercise has been proven to help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. Cardio exercises have especially been shown to help you get a good night's rest.

However, those types of exercises are only part of the story. It is recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans to incorporate two days of resistance training to your workout regiment. These extra days of lifting weights could actually have an even bigger impact on your health than just cardio. Continue reading to learn what this means for you and your sleep.    

The relationship between strength and sleep

A study that was shared at the March 2022 American Heart Association conference on the impact of resistance training in sleep showed that positive effects of strength training. However, it's not the first to do so. 

In 2017, a meta-analysis looked at 34 studies with 29 of them confirming that exercise can benefit sleep quality or duration. Exercise is also good for stabilizing your mood and de-stressing your mind. Rumination and stress are two of the most prominent killers of sleep. By pumping iron, and getting your heart rate up, you may be able to chill your mind and work off some of the strife you build up throughout the day. 

However, it had been hard to tell what type of workout was the best until a 2018 study identified the need to increase resistance exercise into one's workout routine for better sleep. In 2022, a study of 400+ overweight or obese adults who were not physically active showed that those who participated in muscle-building exercises slept about 17 minutes longer than those who just did cardio or no exercise at all.  

Steps for adding resistance training to your sleep routine

Sleeping better doesn't mean you have to throw out your old exercise for the new one. All forms of exercise are beneficial for sleep. If you are not working out, just starting out with something like walking or light aerobic exercise to get you warmed up is better than doing nothing. 

However, if you're already an avid exerciser, and you have a heavier cardio set, you don't have to chuck that one out the window. Resistance training may have slightly better results, so if you're particularly concerned about your sleep, that's the only reason to consider switching it up. If what you're doing works for you, then continue doing what you're doing. 

If you are interested in switching up your routine, you don't have to add more time or double your current routine. You can add a few weekly sessions of an hour or less of resistance training. This means substitute what you're already doing with a couple of strength training sessions a week. 

As you start building your routine, all types of resistance training are beneficial. This means you can work the major muscle groups, like the chest, shoulders, back, arms, abs, and legs, using a variety of machines or moves at home. Basic exercises that are beneficial include:

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

When is the best time to exercise? 

Doing exercises is not the only important aspect of working out, but when you do them can also impact your sleep. Choose a time that is not too close to bedtime. The reason this is significant, is you don't want to elevate your heart rate, body temperature, and blood pressure too close before going to bed.

It disrupts your body's natural homeostasis before going to bed. The body enjoys being cooler, with a lower heart rate and blood pressure in order to go to sleep. 

If you are going to exercise closer to bedtime, it should be something non-stimulating like yoga or stretching. Heavy cardio and resistance training should be done earlier in the day. Even first time in the morning can have some benefits compared to later in the day. Honestly, you just have to listen to you body on when is the best time for you, when are you most focused and motivated. 

If you struggle with getting good sleep and working out is not helping, then please click the orange button below to take a free online sleep test and talk with one of our sleep health professionals. 

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