Medically reviewed by
Dacelin St Martin, MD
Triple board-certified in Sleep Medicine,
Internal Medicine, and Pediatrics.
What’s the Effect of Core Body Temperature? | What’s the Link Between Exercise and Cortisol? | How Do You Ease the Mental Burden of Poor Sleep?
What Types of Exercises Improve Sleep? | Does Timing Matter?
Overview
Physical activity and sleep are two of life’s core components, ensuring longevity, balance, and mental stability.[1]
But how do you determine which of the two to prioritize if, like most people, the premise of good sleep is not a nightly guarantee?
Do you simply whack the ‘snooze’ button and convince yourself that the day is a rest day? Or do you bite the bullet and embark upon your fitness venture despite your inevitable fatigue?
Where ideally, we’d have the privilege of both sleep and physical exercise, the harsh reality is that one is often sacrificed for the other. However, a recent study has abolished our misconceptions and has stated that with adequate exercise, some of the consequences of poor sleep can be diminished following just 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity per week.[2]
Let’s look at the possible mechanisms behind this potentially revolutionary finding below.
What’s the Effect of Core Body Temperature?
In the same way that a hot shower can help give rise to your body temperature and give you that well-needed boost to wake you up in the morning, exercise too elevates your core body temperature.[3]
Typical body temperatures rise around 4-6 AM, given that you’ve slept sufficiently. By exercising shortly after you wake, you’re mimicking a natural response, thereby convincing your circadian rhythm to kickstart itself earlier in the day, giving you that replenished feeling.
What’s the Link Between Exercise and Cortisol?
Cortisol, the stress hormone, and sleep are interlinked and can be influenced by physical activity.[4] Exercise’s positive impact on our mental health has been imprinted on our minds for some time.
Still, when looking at the effect of exercise on cortisol, we find yet another explanation for the benefits of exercise on sleep.
Cortisol is often used as a biomarker for a dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, subsequently triggering poor sleep.[4] In short: the more cortisol released in the morning, the higher your stress levels and the worse your sleep.
By participating in regular exercise, you can reduce cortisol levels and improve your sleep.[4]
How Do You Ease the Mental Burden of Poor Sleep?
Poor sleep is directly linked to composite mental health, whereby insufficient sleep can lead to several mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, and stress.[5]
On the contrary, adequate physical exercise improves self-esteem and cognitive function, which significantly improves symptoms of anxiety and depression.[6]
What Types of Exercises Improve Sleep?
The type of exercise you must do to elicit a beneficial change in your sleep habits needs to be adequately understood.
Many people are confounded by the misconception whereby moderate activity may be wrongly perceived as an intense gym workout or a sprint. In reality, however, moderate-vigorous exercise can be an activity you can conveniently pursue in the comforts of your home.
Aerobic exercises such as a jog, a brisk walk, and dancing your heart out to the latest chart music can all substantially benefit your mental health and sleep.[6]
Likewise, anaerobic exercises such as weight training can also lift your mood.[7] Weight training and resistance exercises can elevate testosterone levels and correlate to better sleep.[8]
As such, if you’re about to embark on a moderate-to-vigorous weekly activity plan, you can undergo any exercise you wish, given that it is somewhat challenging and elevates your heart rate.
Does Timing Matter?
The question of whether you should or shouldn’t exercise before bed has circulated for some time.
Sleep hygiene traditionally encompasses avoiding vigorous activity in the three-hour window before sleep due to its ability to affect sleep quality by elevating your heart rate and increasing your core body temperature.[9]
On the other hand, more recent studies have found that exercise time doesn’t impact sleep.
One survey found that late-night-exercisers tend to fall asleep quicker, have adequate deep sleep, and often wake up feeling refreshed.[10] Other studies further back up these remarks; however, it was noted that vigorous exercise in the hour before sleep might impair sleep quality.[11]
By avoiding the consumption of traditional sleep hygiene at sleep value, we suggest limiting your exercise to at most one hour before sleep. By participating in traditionally calming activities, such as yoga, you can improve your sleep quality and eradicate the potential complications of poor sleep.[2]
What’s the Takeaway?
While research shows promise in using exercise to rid yourself of the negative consequences of poor sleep, it is ultimately up to you to implement a fitness routine that enables you to reach the government-advised daily activity limits and secure a more fulfilling sleep.
Remember, sleep, and activity are interconnected, and you, therefore, require a perfect balance of the two to facilitate the body processes necessary to maintain your overall well-being.
References:
- Chennaoui, M., Arnal, P. J., Sauvet, F., & Leger, D. (2015). Sleep and exercise: A reciprocal issue? Sleep Medicine Reviews, 20, 59–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2014.06.008
- Liang, Y. Y., Feng, H., Chen, Y., Jin, X., Xue, H., Zhou, M., Ma, H., Ai, S., Wing, Y. K., Geng, Q., & Zhang, J. (2023). Joint association of physical activity and sleep duration with risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality: a population-based cohort study using accelerometry. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjpc/zwad060
- Haight, J. S. J., & Keatinge, W. R. (1973). Elevation in set point for body temperature regulation after prolonged exercise. The Journal of Physiology, 229(1), 77–85. https://doi.org/10.1113/jphysiol.1973.sp010127
- De Nys, L., Anderson, K., Ofosu, E. F., Ryde, G., Connelly, J., & Phillips, A. C. (2022c). The effects of physical activity on cortisol and sleep: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 143, 105843. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105843
- Scott, A. P., Webb, T. L., James, M. M., Rowse, G., & Weich, S. (2021b). Improving sleep quality leads to better mental health: A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 60, 101556. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2021.101556
- Sharma, A., Madaan, V., & Petty, F. (2006). Exercise for Mental Health. Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 08(02), 106. https://doi.org/10.4088/pcc.v08n0208a
- Sharma, A., Madaan, V., & Petty, F. (2006). Exercise for Mental Health. Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 08(02), 106. https://doi.org/10.4088/pcc.v08n0208a
- Riachy, R., McKinney, K. L., & Tuvdendorj, D. (2020). Various Factors May Modulate the Effect of Exercise on Testosterone Levels in Men. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology, 5(4), 81. https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk5040081
- Myllymäki, T., Kyröläinen, H., Savolainen, K., Hokka, L., Jakonen, R., Juuti, T., Martinmäki, K., Kaartinen, J., Kinnunen, M., & Rusko, H. (2011). Effects of vigorous late-night exercise on sleep quality and cardiac autonomic activity. Journal of Sleep Research, 20(1pt2), 146–153. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2869.2010.00874.x
- Youngstedt, S. D., & Kline, C. E. (2006). Epidemiology of exercise and sleep. Sleep and Biological Rhythms. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1479-8425.2006.00235.xStutz, J., Eiholzer, R., & Spengler, C. M. (2019). Effects of Evening Exercise on Sleep in Healthy Participants: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine, 49(2), 269–287. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-1015-0
- Stutz, J., Eiholzer, R., & Spengler, C. M. (2019). Effects of Evening Exercise on Sleep in Healthy Participants: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine, 49(2), 269–287. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-1015-0
