Exercise to help you fall asleep

When you exercise, you turn into a walking furnace.

“How does that teach you how to fall asleep fast?” you think to yourself, perplexed. “I don’t need to read an article to know that it’s easier to fall asleep when I’m tired”. BUT. There are lots of things to discover about exercise and falling asleep that you probably don’t know yet.

The thing is, exercise exhausts you into sleep, that is definitely true: but not at any time. To get a clear picture of what’s going on, let’s start by understanding what happens inside your body when you exert yourself.

Why are you so hot ?

When you’re in the midst of a physical effort, your body’s temperature goes up.

• First, because in order to move, your muscles need nutrients that can transform into energy so that your body can use it. This transformation is a chemical reaction that creates heat.

• Secondly, when your muscles move, the mechanical energy that they create naturally produces heat.

Why is this useful though?

About 75% of the energy that we burn turns into heat during effort. This heat is a GOOD thing.

• It dilates blood vessels, which expedites your blood towards your muscles for better irrigation.

• It makes your muscles more flexible, which allows them to stretch without ripping.

At the same time, exercise releases lots of hormones in your body, and they all have their own role to play.

• Endorphins are the anti-pain hormone. They fight off depression and anxiety all the while giving you a sensation of well-being and euphoria. It’s the drug that athletes get hooked on.

• Adrenalin and noradrenalin are chronic stress hormones. They tell your fatty cells to release some of their fat so that you have energy to burn. It’s thanks to them that you lose weight!

• Dopamine is the pleasure hormone, but also the alertness hormone: it fights off exhaustion and keeps you on your toes all day long.

• Finally, testosterone: a masculine hormone, but that doesn’t mean you’re suddenly going to turn into Hulk or Mrs. Hulk. Mostly it helps you have a better handle on stress and fear.

Now, if you’ve read this article and were paying attention, you probably noticed 2 things:

• During effort, your body heats, whereas when you fall asleep, it cools.

• Hormones that are produced during exercise wake you up when you would rather be trying to fall asleep.

So what’s the deal? Does exercise prevent you from sleeping after all?

Actually, not at all.

An American poll by the National Sleep Foundation done on people with the same sleeping schedule suggests that people who exercise at any time of day are more likely to say they slept well (up to 67%) rather than lazybones (39%).

Michael Grandner in particular, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, suggests that even though the ideal would be to exercise at least an hour or two before falling asleep, the chances of reaching a degree of effort which would harm the quality of your sleep are insignificant!

We haven’t even gotten to the many benefits of exercise yet.

• First of all, it reduces the risk of all kinds of diseases (cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimers, diabetes, breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, osteoporosis, cerebro-vascular diseases…) and more.

• It lengthens your life expectancy by reducing weaknesses and problems usually due to old age: tendinitis, ankylosis, articulation pain, loss of autonomy…

• Finally, it stabilizes your blood pressure, fights hypertension and moderates the sugar levels in your blood.

It does all that… and it makes you look really hot.

Not bad !

On the same topic:

The food you ingest affects your sleep!

Ban screens to fall asleep faster!

Stay upbeat for even better sleep!

Having sex will trigger your body into a good night's sleep

Staying zen will rest your mind to help your body sleep at night

Did we mention marijuana as a sleep aid ?

Liked it? Share :)