Exercise promotes good sleep
NEW YORK, Oct 09, 1998 (Reuters) -- Exercise can encourage deep, restful
sleep, according to a new report.
Researchers found that ``in both men and women, regular activity or
exercise was associated with a reduced risk of disorders of
initiating and maintaining sleep.'' Their findings are published in the
current issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Investigators at the Respiratory Sciences and Sleep Disorders Center of
the University of Arizona in Tucson point out that,
while there are many anecdotal reports suggesting that exercise promotes
sleep, ``epidemiological evidence of the benefits of
exercise on sleep are limited.''
They sought to remedy that situation by analyzing data from the Tucson
Epidemiological Study of Obstructive Airways Disease.
As part of that study, 722 men and women were questioned as to their
patterns of both exercise and sleep.
After reviewing the data, the authors conclude that ''regular exercise
is associated with a reduction in the prevalence and risk of
symptoms of disturbed sleep.''
For example, they found that people who said they walked more than 6
blocks per day had 33% fewer sleep disturbances
(including difficulties in getting to sleep) than those who walked less.
And individuals who walked those blocks at a ''brisk pace''
cut their risk for sleep disturbances in half, according to the study.
The authors also found that engaging in regular exercise at
least once per week reduced the likelihood of sleep disorders or daytime
tiredness by about 37%.
The only exception to these trends was the finding that women who
exercised regularly, and exercised vigorously on weekends,
had about double the risk for sleep disorders compared with women who
did not. The authors speculate that many of these
women may have been exercising late in the evening. They point out that
``exercise occurring late in the evening, especially if
vigorous and prolonged, may be detrimental to sleep.''
Overall, however, the Tucson experts found that exercise was strongly
linked to a more restful, deep sleep. While they admit
that ``the underlying physiological mechanisms (for this association)
are still not clear,'' the authors speculate that exercise may
raise the core temperature of the central nervous system, lulling the
body into a somnolence similar to that experienced after a
warm bath. Other factors, including increased fitness, a rise in oxygen
consumption, and stress reduction may all play a part in
the exercise-sleep relationship as well, they say.
The researchers also found that individuals of all ages who exercised
slept better. Increasing age, they report, ``does not appear
to mitigate the beneficial effects of exercise on sleep.''
SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine 1998;158:1894-1898.
--
Judith Richards, London, Ontario, Canada
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